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SHERMAN'S 



*■- • • 



MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 



WITH 



Mt\tB anlr Innhnts of i\t (Kampign* 



BY 



CAPT. DAVID P.- CONYNGHAM. 




NEW YORK: 
SHELDON AND COMPANY. 

1865. 






RELEASED. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year 1865, by 

DAVID P. CONYNGHAM, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. 



CJiL. -^uxsu 



STEREOTYPED AT THE 

BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, 

No. 4 Spring Lane. 



TO 



JAMES G ORB ON BENNETT, ESQ,, 

EDITOR NEW YORK HERALD. 

Dear Sir : 

My connection with the Herald, as a member of that large and 
energetic corps of "War Correspondents which you established at the 
commencement of the Rebellion, has afforded me the opportunity of 
collecting the valuable historical materials which are laid before the 
public in the following pages. With feelings of pride and pleasure, 
I avail myself of your kind permission to dedicate this work to one 
who is justly esteemed the Nestor of Journalism in this Country. 
Respectfully, 

Your ob't serv't, 

The Author. 

New York, Sept. 10, 1865. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The Campaign of General Sheeman in the West and South, which 
is treated of in the following pages, will be accorded a place in history 
as the most important of the entire war. While the brilliant achieve- 
ments of the armies of the Potomac and the James around Richmond 
contributed materially to the final success of the national cause, the 
military operations inaugurated at Chattanooga, and brought to a 
triumphant end in South Carolina, comprised a vital part of the grand 
plan for the suppression of the rebellion — a plan conceived in con- 
summate wisdom, and executed with a boldness and precision wholly 
unprecedented in military' history. We know of no single instance of 
two great armies, a thousand miles apart, acting in such perfect con- 
cert, with a view to attain one end, and • accomplishing the purpose so 
completely, as did the army of the Potomac and the army of the West. 
The abandonment of Richmond, the surrender of Lee's army, and 
the subsequent inevitable submission of General Johnston were the 
results of their combined operations. 

It might almost be said that while the left wing of the national 
army under Grant was threatening Petersbm-g and Richmond, the 
right wing, under Sherman, was sweeping round on the flanks of the 
rebellion, and enclosing it in a net from which escape was impossible. 

At the time when Sherman was known to be on his venturesome 
march to the sea, it was a matter of speculation in the public mind as 
to whether the capture of Richmond would fall to his lot, or that of 
the general who was besieging it. It was subsequently proved by the 
result, and admitted by the southern generals, that Sherman's bold 
move through Georgia and the Carolinas cut off all chance of the 
rebellion being maintained longer. It is not assigning undue impor- 

1* (») 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

tance, then, to " Slierman's IMarch through the South," to say that It 
was the most decisive campaign of the vrar. 

The author of the follovdng pages, having acted in the capacity of 
army correspondent of tlie New Yokk IIeuald with the army of the 
Potomac during the latter part of the campaign which ended at Mine 
Eun, jomed General Sherman's army at Chattanooga in March, 1864, 
and served all thi'ough his brilliant campaigns, as volunteer aid-de- 
camp and war correspondent. 

The insti-uctions of the Herald to its army correspondents were 
brief, but comprehensive. They Vv^ere simply these : To obtain the 
most accurate information by personal observation, and forward It 
with the utmost despatch, regardless of expense, labor, or danger. 
Guided by these concise Instructions, — with his horse, his revolver, 
his field-glass, his note-book, blanket, and haversack, — the army 
con-espondent of the New York Herald started forth to share the 
vicissitudes and hardships of the camp, the fatigues of the march, and 
the perils of the battle-field, to contribute his nari'ative to the history 
of the great war. 

It was thus that the materials for the present work were collected. 
The writer was an eye-witness of all the battles, and most of the inci- 
dents, described ; and he may claim for the work, at least, the merit 
of strict fidelity to truth. As it Is no part of his design to give 
a partial view of anj-thlng that transpired during the eventful period 
over which the story runs, he has chronicled the facts as they occurred, 
without detraction or exaggeration, believing this to be the duty of the 
historian. 

The condition of the southern people, and the workings of the now 
extinct Institution of slavery, were but little understood In the north 
before the late war called so many of Its citizen-soldiers to the south. 
As frequent opportunities of obtaining information upon these sub- 
jects necessarily came within the reach of the writer, several faithful, 
and, he trusts, not uninteresting, pictures of social relations in the 
Southern {States will be found, in this volume. 

David P. Conyngham. 

New York, September 10, 1865. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAOK 

En Route to General Grant's Army of the West. — Scenes and Stories in Louis- 
ville. — Komantic History of "Stud Reynolds." — Colonel Scully. — The 
Defences of Nashville 11 

CHAPTER II. 

Sketch of Tennessee. — Lookout Mountain. — The Battle of Chickamauga. — 
The Camp Breakfast. — The dead Captain. — His blighted Love 20 

CHAPTER III. 

Opening of the Campaign of 1864. — Disposition of the Armies. — Awful Con- 
dition of the People in Tennessee. — Battle of Rocky Face Ridge. ... 28 

CHAPTER IV. 

Headquarters of the Generals. — SuflFerings of the Wounded. — The Enemy's 
Position at Resaca 40 

CHAPTER V. 

Sketches of our Generals. — Personnel of Sherman, Thomas, Schofield, Hooker, 
McPherson, Logan, and Geary - .... 48 

CHAPTER VI. 

Battle of Resaca. — "What it cost to take two Guns. — Terrible Scenes on the 
Battle-field. — Our Losses 66 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Pursuit. — Our Army cross the River on Pontoons and Bridges. — Capture 
of a Rebel Courier. — A good Trick of General Thomas. — Splendid Achieve- 
ment of General Sweeny. — Storming the. Heights at Snake Creek. — Deeds 
of individual Valor. — Sherman and the Lone Widow. — A Coup d'CEil from 
Buena Vista. — Description of the Country. — Troubles of the Correspond- 
ents. — Personal Anecdotes of Sherman 66 

(7) 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A Carnival in the Camps. — Racing and Hunting Parties. — Stragglers and Ma- 
rauders. — Excesses of our Troops.— Murder of Rebel Officers. — Capricious- 
ness of the Southern Ladies.— 3Irs. Major Dash and Mrs. Captain Smart.— 
Condition of the Poor Whites.— Incidents and Anecdotes. — Whites and 
Blacks 78 



CHAPTER IX. 

Scenes in Camp.— Stories by the Fireside. — How an Hlinois Man sold a 
Horse. — The Double-ender Gun.— Misery of the People.— The Hiding- 
place in the Thicket, and the dead Girl 90 

CHAPTER X. 

Assaults and Skirmishes near Dallas and AUatoona. — Wood's Division storm- 
ing the Hill. — Cleburne's Rebel Division drive them back. — Gallant Attack 
of General T. W. Sweeny. — Kenesaw Mountain. — General Frank P. Blair 
arrives. — Personal Risks of our Generals. — Sherman shelling a Skulker. 
— Attack on a Train, and its Consequences 99 



CHAPTER XI. 

Kenesaw Mountain. — Sherman commands a Battery. — Death of Bishop Polk. 
— The March through the Mountain Passes. — Sherman's steam Scout. — 
A friendly Visit, and its Consequences Ill 



CHAPTER XII. 

A Chapter of Fighting. — Johnston addresses false Words to his Men. — A 
Disappointment to the Rebels. — Battle of Gulp's Farm. — Death of General 
Harker. — Hibernian Anecdote 120 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Kenesaw. — Crossing the Chattahoochee. — Sherman outwits and outflanks 
Johnson.— First Sight of Atlanta. — Cruelty of the Slave Dealers. — The 
Story of the Negro Ostin Hi 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Our Cavalry at Work. — Hood replaces Johnston. — Their Tactics compared. 
— The Battle of Peach-tree Creek. — Atlanta surrounded 154 



CHAPTER XV. 

Battle of the 22d July. — Death of General McPherson. — His Life and Ser- 
vices. — Scenes among the Dead and Wounded 167 



CONTENTS. 9 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Unsuccessful Cavalry Kaids of McCook and Stoneman. — Change of Com- 
manders. — Howard's Appointment and Hooker's Resignation. — The Battle 
of Proctor's Creek 181 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Shelling Atlanta. — A Scout's Experience of Hanging^.— The Lady Major. . 192 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Siege continued. — Sharpsliooters fraternizing. — A Military Game of 
Chess between Sherman and Hood. — Sherman wins the Game, and Atlanta 
too. — Cavalry Raids of Kilpatrick and Wheeler. — The decisive Battle of 
Joncsboro'. — Atlanta occupied by our Troops. . , 198 



, CHAPTER XIX. 

Atlanta ours. — Sherman's Entrance. — Feeling of the Citizens. — Sketch of 
the City. — Buried alive in a Bomb Proof. — The Citizens sent north and 
south. — An inhuman Fiend 213 



CHAPTER XX. 

A new Campaign. — Battle of Allatoona. — Sherman signalling from Kenesaw 
Mountain. — Who planned the Campaign and March through Georgia, Sher- 
man or Grant .' — The Conflagration of Atlanta 227 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The March to the Sea commences. — How the Army supplied itself. — Sher- 
man among his Men. — Sack of Madison. — Negro Auxiliaries. — Farm-yard 
and Plantation Scenes 239 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Army in Milledgeville. — Flight of the Government and Legislature.— 
A mock Session in the Capitol. — Our Cavalry Movements. — The Jew and 
the General. — The Way Sherman's Army lived on the Country. . . .253 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Howell Cobb's fast Mare.— Joe, the Forager.- Contrabands. — Capture of 
Fort McAllister 270 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Evacuation of Savannah. — Surrender to General Geary.— His just and con- 
ciliatory Goyernment. — Description of the City 289 



10 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

The March into South Carolina. — Bummers. — Shooting Bloodhounds. — The 
Pets of the Army 300 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Description and Appearance of South Carolina. — Visit to Woodlands. . . 318 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Description of Columbia. — The City on Fire, — Dreadful Scenes in the Streets. 
— Who is responsible. — Sufferings of the Planters' Families 329 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Cheraw. — Crossing the Pedee. — Kilpatrick's Fight with Wade Hampton.— 
Fayetteville. — Communication with the Seaboard 350 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

The Battles of Averysboro' and Bentonville. — News of Lee's Surrender. — 
Interview between Sherman and Johnston. — Homeward Bound. . . . 360 



APPENDIX. 

I. Sketch of the Life of General Sheriviajt 367 

II. Organizatiox of General Sherman's Staff and Arimt. . . 382 

III. The Surrender and Parole of General Johnston's Army. . 384 

IV. General Sherman's Testimony before the Committee on the 

War 394 

V. Speech of General Sherman at St. Louis 427 



GENERAL SHERMAN'S 



MAEeH THROUGH THE SOUTH 
"^hlBRABTf 




^^-?///NGTO^U ^: _^<mAPTER I. 



EN ROUTE TO GENERAL GRANT'S ARMY OF THE WEST. — SCENES 
AND STORIES IN LOUISVILLE. — ROMANTIC HISTORY OF "STUD 
REYNOLDS." — COLONEL SCULLY. — THE DEFENCES OF NASH- 
VILLE. 

In the spring of 1864 I started to join General Grant's army 
in the West, which then lay cantoned around Huntsville, Chat- 
tanooga, and Knoxville. My connection with the army was that 
of a war correspondent — a position which I had previously filled 
with the grand army of the Potomac. 

Arriving at Louisville, the military system of passports began 
to stare me in the face ; but having a letter from General Burn- 
side to General Schofield, then in command at Knoxville, I was 
proof against the repeated and inexorable demand of " Your 
pass, sir." 

At Louisville I put up at the Gaull House, and, of course, 
was shown the very spot where General Jeff C. Davis (not the 
rebel Jeff, but the Union general) shot General Nelson. This 
was a very prolific subject for the guests. As a dernier ressort 
I have always found it on the table. It appeared to be part 
and parcel of the dessert, and led to strong debates, some jus- 
tifying and some censuring the act. One thing was certain — 
that Nelson, though a thorough soldier and stanch Union man, 
was a blustering, insolent naval martinet. At Stone River he 
performed the most heroic acts of valor and savage acts of cru- 

(11) 



12 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

elty. His bravery is respected ; but he atoned for his insolence 
by his life. 

The hotel was pretty full of officers ; some, who were on duty 
in the city, gayly strutting about in all the pomp of power ; oth- 
ers, less demonstrative, were hastening to the front to join their 
commands, for the spring campaign was expected soon to open. 
Vast preparations in the way of hurrying supplies to the front 
were being made, and all officers were ordered to join their 
commands at once. 

General Grant bad just been appointed lieutenant general 
and commander-in-chief of the armies of the United States, 
and General Sherman had been appointed his successor as com- 
mander of the division of the Mississippi. Officers lolled 
around, some smoking their cigars, some enjoying the fragrance 
of a meerschaum ; but with all the war was a prolific subject, 
and grave battles and guerilla adventures were discussed and 
related. 

" They counted Sherman crazy," said a little fiery captain 
with an ugly scar on his face, " because he could see farther than 
others. He said that it would take two hundred thousand men 
to crush out the war in the south-west ; but I ask you who was 
right?" continued the captain, taking his cigar from his mouth, 
and looking around him to see if any one questioned his asser- 
tion. 

" And didn't he come up in time by a rapid march from the 
Mississippi to relieve Chattanooga, and make Longstreet clear out 
from Knoxville ? " said another officer, approvingly. 

" I tell you what, gentlemen," said a gay, handsome-looking 
young colonel. " Only for Governor Johnson we would not 
have much to fight for here ; for wlien Buell thought to evacuate 
Nashville, Andy Johnson insisted on retaining it ; and after 
Buell had drawn off his troops, he still retained it with what 
available militia he could muster. I command his body-guard, 
the 10th Tennessee ; and I tell you, the rage and despair of the 
governor at the idea of evacuating Nashville was a caution to 
rebels. ' Colonel Scully,' he said, ' While we have one man 
left we must hold Nashville.' " 



CALAMITIES OP WAR. 18 

" And old Andy did it, too," said a long Tennesseean captain, 
who wore a slouched hat, long boots with pants stuck inside 
them, and had altogether the negligent air of a man ready and 
filling to carry on war on his own account, as well as Uncle 
Sam's. 

I have remarked that the Kentuckian and Tennesseean troops 
and officers have been superior skirmishers and scouts, while 
they possess a strong repugnance to regular drill and discipline. 
This is partly owing to their training at the beginning of the 
war, and how much each man depended on self-reliance and 
pluck. When the gallows was the reward of loyalty in Ten- 
nessee, each man lived in fear of his neighbor, and slept with 
his bowie knife and revolver under his head. Brother's hand 
was raised against brother's, and the rebels, while in the ascend- 
ancy, used their power with merciless cruelty, while the Union 
men retaliated, exacting blood for blood. Thus was Tennessee 
converted into one vast battle ground, not only by contending 
armies, but also by private factions and individuals. 

Every county, town, and almost every hamlet has been the 
scene of some fierce struggle, bloody drama, or savage murder. 
Towns and villages were laid waste, homesteads desolated, 
nothing remaining but blackened ruins and red graves to tell their 
bloody history. 

Fire-eating politicians, and ranting preachers, whose mission 
was not from above, "fired the southern heart" of the poor 
white trash with a fanaticism that made them savagely thirst for 
the blood of their nearest neighbor. 

Despite such terrors, despite death, there were found brave, 
uncompromising men, whose creed was the union of their 
country, and whose faith in the right never faltered, though 
hunted down by Vigilance Committees and bloodthirsty guerril- 
las. Though they saw their friends dangle from some tree, 
their homes in ruins, their families poor wandering outcasts, 
or perhaps laid in some bloody grave, still they never yielded to 
seduction or force. " God and their Country," was their motto. 

Never has a nobler heroism been displayed, nor a truer 
national devotion, than by the faithful people of East Tennessee. 
2 



14 Sherman's march* through the south. 

It was. worthy the days of William Tell. History will speak 
of them with aclmiratiou ; romance and poetry will couple their 
names Avith the deeds of heroes, and unborn generations Avill 
crown their praise. 

'' I tell you what, colonel," said the tall, gaunt captain, 
" Andy Johnson is a trump ! " and the captain struck the table 
with his clinched hand by way of emphasis. " I know him 
■well, — I hail from near Greenville, and was raised just beside 
him, — his firmness and determination to all the small-souled, 
blue-blasted Seccsh around. Only for him we could scarcely 
maintain the unequal contest, when the devils were hanging and 
butchering men, women, and children. But didn't we pay them, 
eh, colonel?" and he addressed himself to a middle-aged man 
with sharp features and quick eye, who sat beside him. 

The colonel was dressed as if he had thrown on his clothes in 
a hurry, and had not had time to button them. As he wore no 
insignia of rank, we Avere rather incredulous whether he ad- 
dressed him so in joke or according to rank. 

As the colonel replied only with a nod of acquiescence, I 
asked, — 

" You don't mean to say, friend, that they killed women and 
children ? " 

" Don't I, though," and he squirted a volume of tobacco juice 
across me. " Reckon, stranger, you were never up in Tennes- 
see, about our 'ere part." 

" Never," I replied. 

" Well, if business let you, go there, and jist ask the people 
there, and in the few gibbets you'll see the Secesh receipt for 
making rebels ; that's all. At Knoxville they hung poor old 
Harman and his boy, and dragged Haun from his young wife 
and babe. Scarcely a day passed but some one was strangled 
amidst the curses and jeers of as drunken a set of ruffians as 
ever graced hell. 

" In Jefferson County, Colonel Leadbetter, who was a southern 
Yankee, a Maine man, and as unprincipled a ruffian as ever 
butchered a helpless prisoner, hung Fry and Henry from the 
limb of a tree so close to the track that the passengers could 



STUD REYNOLDS. 15 

kick and strike tliem, whicli they did even while the breath was 
in them. 

" I had a taste of their mfercy myself. I was in that dirty jail 
up in Kuoxville, and was thrown into an iron cage, with vermin 
and filth for my companions, because I shot the leader of a cut- 
throat gang who attacked my house. I had too many friends to 
hang me ; so they sent me with another batch off for Tuscaloosa, 
with the intention of killing us on the way. Beyond Athens 
they stopped the train, and ordered us out into the woods to rest ; 
we knew what that rest meant, I tell you. As soon as we got 
out, I called out, ' Boys, they are going to shoot us ; let us fight, 
and not die like dogs.' I struck the man near me, seized his 
musket, shot down another, and in the confusion darted through 
the woods. 

" That little band fought like devils ; but they were all killed 
except myself and three others. We escaped. Heaven knows 
how. 

" I had my revenge. A few months since we captured a body 
of guerrillas near Cumberland Gap ; and among them I recog- 
nized my former captors. Well, I forgot to turn over that 
eleven men." 

" I reckon, cap, you gave them close quarters." 

" As close as you, col ; and that was too close for their friends 
to find them." 

" Mercy," I exclaimed, " you didn't murder them ! " 

" Well, I gave them in charge to the sergeant, who was one 
of those that escaped with me. He says they escaped ; any 
way, they were never seen afterwards ; Stud Reynolds always 
forgets to bring in his prisoners." 

" Who is this Stud Reynolds?" I asked; *' short as I have 
been in this region I have heard much of his daring exploits." 

" I guess you look upon him as a regular raw head and bloody 
bones," said the captain, nodding at the little colonel. 

" I have heard much of his cruelty and desperation ; he must 
have suffered terribly to be such a bloodthirsty persecutor of 
the rebels." 

" Guess he has," said the captain, standing up and laying his 



16 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

hand upon my shoulder, as he shot a squirt of juice over my 
head. " Look you here, stranger." 

I looked into his face. There was a savage earnestness in the 
compressed lips and glaring eyes that almost made me quail. 

" Look here ; " and he tightened his grasp like a vice. 

*' Tell me, stranger, if you had a kind wife and fair daughter, 
wouldn't you love them ? " 

" Certainly." 

" It's but human natur. Well ! Stud Reynolds had a wife, 
a good woman ; he had a daughter, as fair and gentle a girl as 
ever blessed a parent's care. Stud loved them; that was 
nat'ral ; wasn't it? Because Stud was a Union man, he had to 
sleep out in the woods, little dreaming that the foul fiends 
would injure his innocent ones. 

" One night a pack of those hell-hounds came to his house. 
The leader of that gang was a rejected suitor of Miss Reynolds. 
He asked the girl that night to elope with him, or he would 
hunt down her father like a coon, and bring dishonor and shame 
upon herself. Her reply was, ' You are a bad man. I could 
never love you ; besides, I am the promised wife of another.' 

" Brave, noble girl ! The devils tore her out of the house ; 
and because her mother clung to her to save her, a devil — 
a fiend of hell — shot her through the breast, and then hurried 
the insensible girl, with her mother's hot blood spattered over 
her, into the woods. 

" The father returned home to find his house burned down, the 
body of his wife in ashes, and his outraged daughter a maniac." 

While the captain was speaking, the colonel clapped his 
hands to his face, and wept. 

"That man" — and he pointed to the colonel — "is Stud 
Reynolds, and I was to be the husband of that girl. Do you 
wonder, then, what we do ? " 

" O, it is fearful." 

"Yes, it is; but who began it? We have dogged and 
tracked every one of these fiends. We have made their lives 
a hell, and their death a torture. I have tied the arch devil 
himself to a tree, and lit slow fagots around him, while the 



STUD REYNOLDS. 17 

men made a target of his body, at long range, and a bonfire of 
his house. It was the death of a dog, and such he got." 

So that quaint little man beside me was the notorious Stud 
Reynolds — the Jibberryssee of Tennessee, whose name was 
a terror to guerrillas, — who stealthily stole on them in their 
houses and in their camps, and whose knife pierced their hearts 
as they slept around the watch-fire. 

No doubt his provocation was great. 

A few weeks afterwards I met him in Knoxville. He was 
just after capturing the infamous guerrilla Captain Reynolds. I 
was paying a visit to Governor Johnson. I think it was at 
Horace Maynard's house. Colonel Reynolds, or, as he is more 
familiarly called, Stud, came in to report progress. 

*' So, colonel," said the governor, " you have captured Rey- 
nolds?" 

" I reckon so, governor. He is caged." 

" Well, colonel, it is not true, after all, that you never take 
a prisoner, as is said of you." 

" Couldn't help it, governor ; " and Stud held down his head, 
as if ashamed of this -act of clemency. "I'll tell you how it 
was. You see, I knew where they were, and that they had their 
horses tied near a shanty, where they were having a big time 
of it, with a barrel of rotgut, and a dance with the girls. I sur- 
rounded the horses, knowing that they would run for them. 
As soon as they got the alarm, they rushed for the horses, and 
bang we slapped into them, turning up their heels. Captain 
Reynolds, the cowardly skunk, hid behind a log, where some 
of my men took him prisoner ; and as they did not wish to shoot 
him, and a crowd had collected, I thought it was as well to 
cage him. I assure you it wasn't my fault, governor ; " and 
Stud looked as if such an unusual act of mercy was a reproach 
on him. 

" Well, well, colonel, it is well to get rid of these cutthroat 
guerrilla scoundrels ; but it is not right nor soldierly to shoot a 
prisoner, no matter how great the provocation." 

Stud looked a little abashed ; but I could plainly see that he 
did not coincide with the governor. 
2* 



18 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

" And are such acts of barbarous cruelty and savage retal- 
iation Committed here?" I asked of Colonel Scully, as we 
steamed next day for Nashville. 

*' Undoubtedly, sir. I have often heard of Stud Reynolds's 
story ; but scenes as bad are every day being enacted under my 
own eyes, and we are powerless to prevent them. The country 
is infested with guerrilla bands, who keep out of the reach of 
our troops, but then murder and pillage all before^ them. 
We sometimes make fearful retaliations, and I am afraid 
the innocent too often suffer with the guilty. Lately, my 
major's father, a Dr. Moore, was savagely butchered in his 
house by these ruffians. The major took out a squad of men 
to scour the country for them. They shot several men against 
whom they had information. I am afraid guilty parties them- 
selves too often give information against loyal men, and some 
are too apt to act upon it." 

" Then you think innocent men are often shot down by their 
own party ? " 

" I fear so." 

*' It is a sad state of things when society is so disruptured." 

" We have no society here. At the inception of the rebellion, 
the Union and Secesh parties were nearly balanced in Eastern 
Tennessee. The Secesh party took the initiative, and shot down 
their Union neighbors in order to intimidate the rest. A reign 
of terror followed, in comparison to which the Bastile, and all 
the horrors of the French revolution, were mild. The Union 
party soon recovered themselves, and retaliated with a ven- 
geance, imbittered by former sufferings." 

"•What do you think of slavery in Tennessee, colonel?" 

"It is already dead, sir. Nothing can galvanize its corpse. 
It was a deadly disease. I came down here with pretty strong 
slavery proclivities, until I saw its workings, its debasing 
nature even on the whites themselves. I now abhor it as a 
damnable institution. Only a fcAV weeks since, a case occurred 
in the street where I lived that sickened me Avith slavery. A 
lady had a slave, a pretty mulatto woman, of about thirty 
years. This woman had a smart, intelligent child, of about 



COLONEL SCULLY. 19 

eight years. The mistress liacl sold the boy to a trader from 
Alabama, though her own blood and the blood of a distin- 
guished senator flowed in that boy's veins. Chloe wept, and 
besought the mistress not to separate them, — to keep both or 
sell both. It was no use. At night Chloe and the boy were 
missing, and, on searching an outhouse, were found dead, with 
both their throats cut. Such are the blessed effects of slavery." 

The colonel kindly invited me to his quarters in Nashville. 
This gave me an opportunity of inspecting all the forts and 
works around the city. 

The colonel's regiment, 10th Tennessee, was a splendid body 
of troops, and nearly one thousand strong. I have often seen 
them drilled and reviewed, and I am not surprised that Governor 
Johnson felt so proud of his fine-looking body-guard. 

The chief works about Nashville are Fort Gillem, called 
after General Gillem (it was designed and garrisoned by my 
friend Colonel Scully ; it has embrasures for seven field- 
pieces and six light guns) ; Fort Morton, called after Brigadier 
General Morton, who was killed at Petersburg, mounts thirty 
guns, commanding the Franklin and Hillsboro' pikes ; Fort 
Negly, after Major General Negly, who, at one time, com- 
manded the post of Nashville ; Fort Cassina, on College Hill ; 
Fort Houston, after Mr. Russell Houston, a thorough Union 
man. He owned the site, and some rebel, taunting him, 
said, — 

"See what your friends are doing — tearing down your house 
to build a fort 1 " 

" Let them. If the Confederacy succeed, I don't want the 
house ; if the Federals win, they will build me a better one." 

Another work was Fort Andrew Johnson, on Capitol Hill, 
so called in honor of the governor, now President Johnson. In 
addition to these, there were several redoubts, batteries, and 
minor forts, making Nashville a strongly fortified city. So 
Hood found it when he rashly butted up his troops against it. 
In a fcAV days I left for Chattanooga. The road along was 
guarded by posts and strong stockades, and appeared flanked 
by broken locomotives, wagons, and cars, the joint work of 
guerrillas and frequent railroad accidents. 



20 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER II. 

SKETCH OF TENNESSEE. — LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. — THE BATTLE OF 
CHICKAMAUGA. — THE CAMP BREAKFAST. — THE DEAD CAP- 
TAIN.— HIS BLIGHTED LOVE. 

The State of Tennessee was first settled by a party of ad- 
venturers from North Carolina, who built a fort at Loudon, in 
1757, to protect themselves from the Indians, different tribes of 
whom occupied the fertile region of country along the Tennes- 
see and Holston Rivers, extending back as far as the mountain 
borders of Carolina. Of these the Cherokees were the most 
powerful and numerous tribe. Our border states, such as 
Kentucky and Tennessee, were harassed by the Indian tribes, 
and the settlers embroiled in continual and bloody struggles 
with their savage neighbors. 

The first colony at Fort Loudon were soon expelled, or 
butchered by their merciless foes. Despite all this, the forest 
gave way to the axe of the sturdy pioneer, and hamlets and 
towns soon dotted the landscape. 

In 1796 Tennessee was admitted into the Union as a state. 
Several of her children figured. in the war of independence, and 
she played a very honorable part in the war of 1812. 

The landscape and scenery of Tennessee are magnificently 
grand, and need but be known to entitle her to the privilege of 
being called *' The Switzerland of America." The Cumber- 
land Hills rise to an elevation of almost two thousand feet. 
Their appearance forms a striking feature in the beauty of the 
landscape, their shaggy sides bristling with forest trees, while 
the granite and marble peaks and cliffs glitter in the sunshine 
like sparkling diamonds. 

In the valleys below, the mighty Tennessee River winds its 



PHYSICAL FEATURES OF TENNESSEE. 21 

way through fertile plains, through rich plantations, through 
wild forests, and bold, towering rocks, from its source in Vir- 
ginia, cradled among the AUeghanies ; through the State of 
Tennessee, among the Cumberland Mountains ; through the 
cotton plantations of Alabama ; through the rich fields of Ken- 
tucky, until it rests in the bosom of the mighty Mississippi at 
Paducah. 

Tennessee has rich mineral products, such as coal, iron, cop- 
per, and even gold ; and at no very distant day she is destined 
to become one of the leading states of the Union. She cannot 
help it. 

With a salubrious climate, a soil of unbounded fertility, 
immense water power, great, though undeveloped, mineral re- 
sources, — such is her inevitable destiny 

From the summit of Lookout Mountain what a maornificent 

o 

panoramic view is presented ! Beneath your feet lies the scat- 
tered and rather dirty little town of Chattanooga, a place 
almost unknown before, but rendered memorable now. As far 
as the eye can reach, flows the magnificent Tennessee, with its 
wooded banks, its bold, rocky cliffs. Stately and grandly it 
winds in serpentine bends, sparkling, as we now see it, beneath 
the rays of a bright sun. 

A rich valley, miles in length, open to your view, bounded 
by Mission Ridge, with its woody crest, recalling some proud 
recollections of victory, and Chickamauga, with its dark record 
of defeat and disaster. 

From this point I could trace the path and dark ravines 
through which Cross's regiment of East Tennesseeans crawled 
down the mountain to give way to a rebel gun which was 
placed on the very crest of the towering rock, looking down 
with its brazen throat on the devoted town, camps, and in- 
trenchments of the Federal lines. 

The battle of Chickamauga, though one of the most desper- 
ate struggles of the western campaign, was one of the most 
disastrous. For three long days, against heavy odds, theN Fed- 
eral troops fought with dogged desperation. At length, over- 
powered and defeated, they fell back to Chattanooga, where 



22 Sherman's march through the south. 

they strongly intrenched themselves. The defeat might have 
been disastrous, had not the cool courage and military genius 
of one man saved the army, perhaps the nation. That man 
was General Thomas. The same imperturbable leader cleared 
the road for Sherman's sweeping raid ; for had Hood captured 
Nashville, Sherman's raid would avail nothing. Thomas very 
quietly laid his plans, and caught the impulsive Hood in his 
meshes. 

The battle of Chickamauga was fought between a creek of 
that name and Pea Vine Creek, and about eight miles west of 
Einjxsrold. The battle-field extended about ten miles. I have 
been informed by a spectator, who had been through most of 
our great battles, that on that terrible Sunday night, September 
20, 1862, the field presented one of the most fearful, ghastly 
sights of all war's sad pictures. 

*' On the morning of the 18th," said my friend, who was an 
attache of the press, " I had a hurried breakfast with some 
officers of McCook's staff. We could distinctly hear the picket 
firing with a scattered artillery fire. It was evident that the 
battle had commenced. Aids were riding to and fro, and col- 
umns of troops were slowly and steadily advancing to the front. 
A young, bright-eyed, fair-haired captain, named Stenton, looked 
after them, sighed, and remarked, ' Do you know, but it makes 
me feel bad when I see all these brave fellows advancing in 
proud, serried lines, and then — what a mass of- crushed and 
torn humanity they will be before night ! ' ' Pshaw ! Stenton,' 
said a dashing young major, ' don't be scaring us with such 
gloomy pictures ; the dose is bad enough, man, Avithout making 
us taste it beforehand.' 

" ' Stenton appears gloomy,' said another ; ' I guess his lady- 
love has jilted him. Cheer up, Stenton, old boy ! ' 

" ' Well, I confess,' replied Stenton, affecting a laugh, ' I feel 
somehow depressed. I suppose, gentlemen, I need not say to 
you, who know me so well, tlmt it is not fear.' 

" ' Certainly not, old boy ! But here comes the general ; let 
us get ready to mount.' 

" On Sunday night," continued my friend, " I rode over a 



THE WOUNDED OFFICER. 23 

part of the battle-field. The pale moonbeams glittered on the 
ghastly faces of the dead, with their glassy eyeballs turned 
towards the heavens, and their frames distorted into every con- 
ceivable posture. The ground was piled with dead, dying, and 
wounded — men and horses. Small arms were strewn around ; 
broken artillery carriages and caissons made up the desolating 
picture. I was passing near a creek when my horse shied at 
some bodies that blocked up the stream. I pressed him over, 
but he still snorted, and refused to advance. I heard a feeble 
voice call to me from among the mangled pile of dead and 

wounded. ' Mr. , take me out of this,' groaned the voice. 

I removed two or three bodies from a young officer ; his dress 
and hair were so covered with dirt and puddle that at first I 
did not recognize him. 

" I dragged him out, and laid him on the bank, and gave him 
a drink from a flask of brandy which I carried. 

" This revived him. He opened his eyes and looked at me. 
* Mr. — — ,' says he, ' I am dying.' As soon as he spoke I 
recognized my young friend. Captain Stenton. 

" ' Stenton,' I exclaimed, ' my dear friend, I fear you are ; 
but what's to be done ? The troops are retreating ; we can't 
remain here.' ' I know that ; leave me here ; but take these 
and send them as directed ; ' and he pulled two letters and a 
locket from his breast. ' Send these letters ; one is for my 
dear mother, the other is for one I loved with a hopeful, boyish 
love ; but it was but a dream ! For their sakes I w^ould like to 
live ; but then, my country called me, and I gladly resign my 
life for her sake.' 

" He pressed the blood-dyed locket to his lips, and remained 
silent for some time. I lifted his head ; he was breathino: 
heavily, a bullet having passed right through his lungs. He 
opened his eyes and murmured, ' Won't you send them ? and 
bury me with this locket on my breast. How I loved her, 
and my dear mother ! Tell them so. I knew I'd fall to-day ; 
something told me so ; so I had these letters written before- 
hand.' Again he tried to raise himself, and said, ' I hear the 
noise of artillery and troops passing : who are they ? * 



24 Sherman's march through the south. 



" ' Ours retreating.' 

" ' Too bad, too bad : and for this we died ! Go, my friend, 
and leave me.' 

" ' I do not like to leave you behind me : do you think you 
could bear being removed ? ' 

" ' I'd sooner, I'd sooner : then I'd be buried with this on my 
breast ; and he pressed the locket to his lips.' 

" Wagons, ambulances, caissons, and artillery were by this 
time hurrying by in mad confusion. I tried to stop the ambu- 
lances ; but they were all full, and the drivers too excited to 
stop. At length a caisson stuck in the heavy road. By bribes 
and entreaties I induced the driver to take poor Stenton on the 
box. I tenderly placed him on it, Avraping my poncho around 
him, and made two of the men sit beside him to keep him 
steady. I then mounted and rode after them. 

" As we approached the main road the confusion was intense, 
— drivers swearing, ambulances and wagons striking against 
one another, officers and men hurrying to the rear. To 
heighten this confusion an occasional shell burst near us, and 
there Avas a general cry that the rebels were pursuing. It was 
one of those scenes common to the retreat of a discomfited 
army. Beside the narrow road I noticed a dead horse, with his 
feet ground off by the wheels of the passing wagons. An 
officer's uniform between his feet drew my attention. I dis- 
mounted, and found the legs of a man beside the horse's, crushed 
and broken from the same cause. 

" I succeeded in pulling him out ; but he was dead. As I 
could find no wounds upon him, he must have been caught by 
his fallen horse, whose head was knocked off by a round shot, 
and smothered and crushed to death. I at once recognized 
him : it was the young major of the morning. After laying 
his body beside a tree, I mounted and rode after my friend. 
When I came up I found that the men had left the box, scared 
by the shells, and the driver was swearing and whipping his 
jaded horses for bare life. The captain was dead : his head 
hung over the box, and was crushed against the wheel. His 
light golden hair hung down, clotted with gore oozing from 
his dripping wounds and crushed head. 



CHATTANOOGA. 25 

"He was dead. I could do nothing for him. I laid his 
body, with the locket over his heart, to rest beside many a 
brother officer who had fallen upon that bloody field. 

" I sent the letters to that dear mother, who wept for her 
faired-haired young soldier boy, and to that loved young heart 
whose warm impulses and cherished hopes were so rudely 
blighted." 

This was the story my friend told me of Chattanooga, as we 
sat together on Lookout Mountain and viewed with our glasses 
the surrounding country, which appeared torn, and gutted, and 
ridged by contending armies. 

" Where we sit now," said my friend, " is near two thousand 
feet high ; and yonder is Missionary Ridge, from where the 
rebels dated their despatches while besieging Chattanooga ; it 
is one thousand feet high. As you see, Chattanooga is in a 
deep basin, completely surrounded by hills and the Tennessee 
River. From this point, in a clear atmosphere, you can see the 
mountains of four states, though the Blue Ridge of North 
Carolina and the mountains of Alabama are near sixty miles 
away. The ascent from Chattanooga is by a winding road that 
twines round the hill to its highest point, one mile to the rear of 
Lookout Point. On the summit of the hill is a pleasant little 
village called Summertown, a favorite resort for invalids, Avho 
there seek shelter from the intense heat and malarious effects 
of the low grounds. 

" This pile of rocks, where we sit, and which looks some- 
thing like an old Cromlech or Druid's altar, so often found in 
England and Ireland, is Lookout Point. It is a glorious spot, 
as much from its locality as its memories. And when bronze 
statues will have lost the story that made them historic, and 
history itself will have become almost merged into fable, that 
mountain will stand forth as a monument of the heroism of the 
men that could climb such a hill in the face of plunging round 
shot and bullets, and the iron hosts that crowned them. 

" Men will say that there were giants in those days ; and so 
there were, if not in body, at least in invincible courage. If I 
had my will to affix a name to this mountain, I would rebap- 
3 



26 

tize it. • I would call this rough-jointed pile of rocks Hooker's 
Point ; and as for the valley beneath us, where General Geary 
rallied his troops for the final charge, I Avould call that Geary's 
Valley. Neither title would be inappropriate. 

" It was a glorious victory for Hooker. Fresh from the 
army of the Potomac, he had a new field to operate in, new 
victories to gain and a late disaster to retrieve, and nobly did 
he succeed. We have heard of Hooker's battle in the clouds. 
It is true that a dense fog obscured the plains and valley, and 
that the ringing minie bullet and plunging shot of the rebel 
batteries came Avhistling and hurtling through dense fogs and 
obscure clouds that shut out the mountain top from our view. 

" I will tell you about Chattanooga. The rebels at once saw 
its advantage as a grand strategic point, and consequently one 
of their earliest military movements was to occupy and for- 
tify it. 

" For two years they stoutly held it as a pivot for their dep- 
redatory army which radiated to Tennessee, Georgia, and 
Alabama. At length they Avcre forced to give it up to Rose- 
crans, with his army of the Cumberland, which entered Chatta- 
nooga on the 7th September, 1863. 

" Bragg, finding himself outnumbered and outmanoeuvred, 
was forced to evacuate. The army of the Cumberland was 
recnforced by the 11th and 12th corps, under Major General 
Hooker, which, afterwards consolidated, formed the 20th corps. 

" Hooker's first appearance on the western battle-ground was 
by a night attack on Brown's Ferry, two miles from Chatta- 
nooga, in which he was remarkably successful. 

" He followed this up by driving the enemy from Raccoon 
Mountain and Lookout Valley, which gave us the initiative, 
and might be put down as a set-off against Chickamauga. We 
soon obtained possession of the railroad between Chattanooga 
and Bridgeport, secured our supplies, and only needed the pos- 
session of Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge to give us a 
secure base to commence tlie campaign of 18G4. 

" I have said that this point should be called after Hooker. 



"Sherman's ridge." 27 

Ridge ; for there, with his brave 15th corps, with which, 
wearied, exhausted, and prostrated, as it was, with a march of 
several hundred miles, he met the repeated assaults of the ene- 
my, and finally overcame them. I say it should be called 
' Sherman's Ridge.' 

" The battle of Ringgold concluded the campaign of 18G3." 



28 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER III. 

OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1864. — DISPOSITION OF THE AR- 
MIES.— AWFUL CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE IN TENNESSEE.— 
BATTLE OF EOCKY FACE EIDGE. 

From the vast preparations making on all sides, it was evident 
that the campaign of 1864 would be the most vigorous and des- 
perate of the war. General Easton, Sherman's quartermaster 
general, was stationed at Nashville, superintending the ship- 
ment of stores and supplies for the army. Sherman himself 
had taken up his quarters there, and seemed to infuse his rest- 
less energy into all his officials. 

Stores were rapidly pushed forward to Knoxville, Chatta- 
nooga, and other points. There were similar indications of a 
gi'and campaign in the army of the Potomac, and it was evi- 
dent on all sides that a fierce struggle was impending both in 
Virginia and Northern Georgia. 

The following were the relative positions of the contending 
armies at the opening of the campaign : The rebels held Tunnel 
Hill and Dalton, with cavalry confronting Cleveland, Ringgold, 
Huntsvillc, and Decatur, also the Virginia line of railroad be- 
yond Bull's Gap, while the Federal posts occupied Knoxville, 
Loudon, Athens, Cleveland, Ringgold, Bridgeport, and Hunts- 
villc. 

Sherman himself estimated the rebel army, comprising 
Hardee's, Hood's, and Polk's corps of infantry and artillery, 
at about fifty thousand, with Wheeler's cavalry at ten thou- 
sand, — total sixty thousand, — while he set down his own force 
as follows : — 



Sherman's forces. - 29 

Army of the Cumberland, Major Gen. Thomas com^g. 

Infantry 54,568 

Artillery 2,377 

Cavalry 3,828 

Total 00,733 

Guns 130 

Army of the Tennessee, 3 faj or Gen. McPherson com'g. 

Infantry 22,437 

Artillery 1,404 

Cavalry 624 

Total 24,465 

Guns 96 

Army of the Ohio, Major Gen. Schofield com'g. 

Infantry 11,183 

Artillery 676 

Cavalry 1,097 

Total 13,559 

Guns 28 

Grand total 98.797 

Total g-uns 254 

On the morning of May 6, these armies were grouped as 
follows : that of the Cumberland, near Einggold ; that of the 
Tennessee, near Gordon's Mills, on the Chickamauga ; and that 
of the Ohio, near Red Clay, north of Dalton, on the Georgian 
line. 

Sherman had lately issued an order that the railroads should 
be used exclusively for military purposes, thus depriving thou- 
sands, who were living on government rations, of support. 
He believed the safety and support of his army paramount to 
all other considerations. He had a long campaign before him, a 
long and uncertain line of communications to guard from a vigi- 
lant enemy. " Let the citizens go south, or to the rear ; I can- 
not leave my army at the mercy of every raiding party ; the 
campaign must open with thirty days' surplus rations at Chatta- 
nooga." This was Sherman's logic. And good logic it was 
for the safety of his army, but fatal, in their terrible starving 
condition to the unfortunate sufferers of East Tennessee. 
3* 



80 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

A hegira of poor, forlorn refugees tlien commenced, followed 
by human sufferings that might appall the angels. The distress 
and starvation were terrible throughout Tennessee, and many 
who had stood the fiery ordeal of battle now succumbed to the 
pale spectre of starvation. 

The 1st of May was appointed for one grand simultaneous 
movement of the army under the following commanders : The 
army of the Tennessee, under Major General J. B. McPherson, 
comprising the 15th and parts of the 16th and 17th corps, 
then stationed in and around Huntsville, Alabama ; the army 
of the Cumberland, under Major General Thomas, comprising 
the 14th and 20th corps, and stationed around Chattanooga, 
Tunnel Hill, and Dalton ; and the army of the Ohio, under 
Major General Schofield, comprising the 4th and 23d corps, 
stationed at Knoxville, Strawberry Plains, and Bull's Gap. 

General Kilpatrick had assumed command of the cavalry 
division of the army of the Cumberland, stationed at Ringgold, 
with General Stoncman in command of the cavalry corps in 
Kentucky. 

Georgia, like Tennessee, being the theatre of some of the 
most stirring events of the late rebellion, has attracted the 
attention of the world by the fierce nature of the conflict that 
has desolated her cities and homesteads, and converted her 
fertile fields into one vast cemetery. Now, when that strife is 
over, and we are cultivating a better and more amicable acquaint- 
ance, it is well that the people of the North should know some- 
thing of her resources and capabilities. 

The State of Georgia lies between thirty and thirty-five de- 
grees north latitude, and eighty-one and eighty-four degrees 
west longitude, and covers an area of about sixty-three thou- 
sand square miles, or over forty millions of acres. 

Its soil and climate are varied, the latter changing from the 
cool breeze and salubrious air of its northern frontier, borderinjr 
on Tennessee and Carolina, to the torrid, fever-producing cli- 
mate that prevails along the SAvamps and bayous towards the 
southern coast, bordering on the Savannah and South Carolina. 

In like manner her soil varies, in quality, from the rich allu- 



WEALTH OF GEORGIA. 31 

vial land and rice plantations along the Savannali and Alata- 
malia Rivers, to the red, rich, loamy lands, producing cotton, 
tobacco, and grain, of the middle portion, and the poorer, but 
more hilly, picturesque, and healthy regions bordering on Ten- 
nessee and North Carolina. 

It has some very fine navigable rivers, such as the Savan- 
nah, the Alatamaha, the Chattahoochee, and several others, 
which we shall have occasion to notice more fully. These 
rivers are, for the most part, of a clay-red color, owing to the 
nature of the soil, and the shores of the lower rivers are abun- 
dantly inhabited by alligators, snakes, and other reptiles. 

Georgia was one of the original " thirteen states of the 
Union," and was colonized by General Oglethorpe in 1773, and 
was thenceforth continually at war with the Spaniards or In- 
dians. Savannah was an important position during the revo- 
lutionary war, and was captured by the British in 1778. Only 
as late as 1838, the great Cherokee country came into the 
possession of the whites. 

On the whole, Georgia possesses unrivalled sources of wealth 
and power, and is destined for a glorious future of material 
wealth and political power. 

In the first week in May a simultaneous movement of the 
armies of the Potomac, under General Meade, and the armies 
of the West, under General Sherman, took place. While the 
former were engaged in the bloody conflicts of the Wilderness, 
the latter were repulsing Johnston and his army from Dalton, 
Rocky Face Ridge, and Resaca. 

On the 1st of May General Sherman removed his head- 
quarters to Chattanooga, and a general movement commenced 
for the purpose of concentrating around Ringgold. On the 
3d, McPherson's army was quietly conveyed by rail from 
Huntsville to Chattanooga. 

We now held the principal gaps of Taylor's Ridge, while 
Johnson's division of the 14th corps lay at the eastern mouth 
of Ringgold Gap, threatening Tunnel Hill. 

Howard had occupied Cleveland with the 4th corps, and was 
now marching towards Tunnel Hill, followed by the 23d corps. 



82 Sherman's march through the south. 

On the night of the 7th these corps bivouacked in a valley 
about two miles from Tunnel Hill and four from Dalton. 

On the 4th General Sherman broke up his headquarters at 
Chattanooga, and moved to Einggold, announcing that he in- 
tended making the campaign without a tent, and by a general 
order cutting down baggage and transportation to the lowest 
possible figure. The whole army was now in motion, the cam- 
paign was fairly inaugurated. Howard and Palmer were 
closing on Tunnel Hill, forcing back the enemy to Buzzard 
Roost. Hooker was moving through Hickajack and Gordon 
Gaps. McPherson was bringing up the rear with his lines 
extending from Gordon's Mills to Villanow. 

The enemy made but slight resistance on Taylor's Ridge, 
through which the Tunnel passes. Our columns were moving 
through the valleys on their flank, threatening to cut them off 
from Dalton and Resaca. They fell back to the strong position 
along the Rocky Face Ridge. 

We now held Tunnel Hill, and had trains running right up 
to the troops with supplies. On the morning of the 8th the 
whole army lay in front of the Mountain, McPherson with the 
15th corps, and Dodge's division, 16th corps, on the right; 
Hooker next, Palmer's 14th corps next, Howard on the left 
centre, and Schofield on the extreme left. General Elliot's 
cavalry was occupied covering our flanks and keeping open 
communication. Stoneman's cavalry had not yet come up, 
while Kilpatrick was feeling the enemy's outposts along Dog- 
wood Valley. 

Rocky Face Ridge, which the rebels defended with such 
dogged pertinacity, is a long, abrupt continuation of the Chat- 
toogata range of mountains, running in a south-westerly direc- 
tion from Dalton to Rome. It is about fifteen hundred feet 
high, and so precipitous in places that the rocks present a 
smooth, perpendicular front from twenty to fifty feet high, thus 
forming a natural and impregnable fortification. Its top and 
sides are sparsely covered with trees and brushwood. 

An immense gorge, called Buzzard Roost Gap, opens through 
the mountain. Through this run the common road, the Chat- 



BUZZARD ROOST GAP. 33 

tanooga and Atlanta Railroad, also Mill Creek Stream. The 
rebels dammed the gorge, forming a large reservoir of water 
gome sixteen feet deep, with which they boasted that they could 
drown our army beneath them. They strengthened this strong 
natural position by artijficial works of the most formidable kind. 
All the heights around bristled with cannon, and were dotted 
with rifle-pits. To the right of this gorge is Buzzard Roost, 
being about eighteen hundred feet high, and almost inaccessible 
from its rugged nature. During the five days we lay in front 
of this mountain, flocks of buzzards hovered over it, scared by 
the roar and din of battle beneath, yet wheeling round and 
round like birds of ill omen. On the whole, the entire position 
is perhaps one of the strongest an army could occupy. As I 
have stated, Howard's and Schofield's columns had moved from 
Catoosa Springs, east of Taylor's Ridge, and on the evening of 
the 7th reached the foot of Rocky Face Ridge. Stanley's 
division pressed up the valley to Buzzard Roost Gap in order to 
connect with the 14th corps, with Schofield's corps extended 
towards the eastern point of the ridge. 

The enemy skirmished briskly with our advance during the 
afternoon of the 7th. "We were endeavoring to take up our 
position to assault the enemy on the following day, if prac- 
ticable, or at least to draw their attention from McPherson's 
movement on their flank. On the night of the 7th, General 
Harker conceived the bold design of dragging a section of artil- 
lery to the crest of the hill on the enemy's flank, which he had 
gained by his assault in the evening. In this movement he was 
supported by McClean's brigade of General Judah's division, 
23d corps. The horses were unhitched from the guns, ropes 
were tied to them, and hundreds of volunteers rushed to the 
willing task. Pioneers cleared the timber and brushwood, and 
levelled the rocks in their advance. So steep was the ascent 
that the men had to grasp the projecting cliffs and roots with 
one hand, while they hauled with the other. All this time our 
skirmishers and sharpshooters were keeping up a brisk fire on 
the enemy, in order to draw their attention from the movement. 
After much toil we succeeded in gaining the crest and getting 



34 Sherman's march through the south. 

the guns into position, mucli to the surprise of the enemy next 
mornin'g. 

I have seklom witnessed so splendid a panoramic view as that 
seen from the summit of Rocky Face Ridge. The men had 
cleared away the forest timber and brushwood, and had piled 
up barricades of the loose rocks. The rebel works commanding 
Buzzard Roost Gap, and the ridge of the hill, were but a few 
hundred yards from our pickets. Night had now set in, the din 
and roar of battle had ceased, except the occasional whirring of 
a minie bullet fired by the pickets, and the boom of a gun bid- 
ding the enemy " good night." A thick fog rose up from the 
valleys, obscuring the mountains ; but through this sparkled the 
glare of innumerable camp fires from the valleys, looking like 
so many huge fireflies glowing beneath us, or the flickering 
lamps of a city seen from a distance. The metallic sound of 
the rifle, the whir and the crash of shot and shell, and the whiz- 
zing hum of the minie had ceased. The encouraging shouts and 
cheers of battle, the death groan of the dying and wounded, had 
sunk into repose and given place to the solemn stillness of night. 
We had broken the tender branches from the trees, and placed 
them over the sharp rocks for our beds, sure to select the safe 
side of some projecting cliff or stately pine. As we lay down, 
I could hear the tramp of our sentries marching up and down, 
the men as they conversed in a hushed tone, some recounting 
the events of the day ; others in solemn groups joined in prayer, 
while from some obscure nook a regular devil-may-care fellow 
hurled a defiant song at the enemy. The latter quietly lay 
behind their works, apparently heedless of our proximity. The 
moon floated over our heads, its silvery light struggling to pierce 
that hazy mist. There, on our rough beds, on that mountain top, 
some fifteen hundred feet high, we slept as soundly as if pil- 
lowed on a couch of eider down. Our wearied frames forgot all 
in the sweet oblivion of sleep. 

The thick haze of the morning was clearing away, the sen- 
tries still marching on their beats, and the men standing beside 
their guns, as I awoke. The sun was rising along the eastern 
horizon, with its fiery beams trying to pierce the thick fog. The 



THE PRAYER MEETING. 35 

fog gradually cleared away, revealing the densely wooded val- 
leys extending far away in the distance, the numerous hills, and 
mountains with their towering peaks and shaggy sides. The 
expiring camp fires and the tents of the enemy lay, as it were, 
at our feet. We could almost look into their intrenchments, and 
count their numbers as they deployed beneath us. 

"We had a bird's eye view of Dalton, Resaca, and several 
other towns and villages, while numerous streams sparkled with 
the morning beams like polished mirrors. This might be a very 
pleasing sight for us if we were mere tourists ; but the grim can- 
nons, and the lines of troops with their glittering bayonets beside 
us, reminded us that our mission was not one of peace and refine- 
ment. To impress us more forcibly, the noise of the booming 
cannon and the whirring bullet soon rang upon our ears, herald- 
ing in another day of slaughter. 

It is strange how soldiers will joke even under the most try- 
ing circumstances. As we were not allowed to light fires in 
order to conceal our position from the enemy, the men had noth- 
ing but hard tack for their supper, and some, more fortunate than 
others, had water in their canteens. A man of the 125th Ohio, 
an amateur preacher, had some of his comrades collected around 
him in solemn conclave ; and with hushed breath he was exhort- 
ing them to repentance, drawing their attention to their com- 
rades who had fallen that day, telling them that such might be 
their own fate to-morrow. 

" Arrah, in sure, what are ye whishpering about?" said an 
Irish soldier, coming up to the group. 

" Praying, Paddy, praying ; trying to get to heaven," replied 
one of them. 

" And will that take ye's there? " 

" Certainly," said a wag ; " what better preparations can we 
make than praying and fasting?" 

" Devil a doubt of it ; sure ye's fifteen hundred feet nearer 
heaven now than ye were in the morning, any way, and I think 
a good many of us will die pretty high up in the world to-mor- 
row, please God," was Paddy's reply. 

A sharpshooter had taken down several of the enemy by the 



36 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

following plan. He lay behind a barricade of rock, through 
which be had an opening for his gun. He dressed up a stick 
wdth an old coat and hat, and would occasionally raise this over 
the barricade, when the rebels were sure to pop at it, and then 
raise up their heads to see the result, thus offering targets to the 
sharpshooter, which he seldom missed. 

As I lay upon my branch couch, I was continually disturbed 
by the low, piteous moans of a wounded man. The moon was 
shining bright, and the troops lay around us buried in sleep. I 
knew it was not safe to walk through the lines at night for fear 
of getting shot as a spy ; however, I could not resist that suf- 
fering appeal. I got up, picked my way through the prostrate 
lines until I came to the edge of a cliff. The moan seemed to 
proceed from a gorge beneath me. Grasping tree branches and 
roots, I jumped from rock to rock until I landed on a kind of 
platform. There I found a soldier lying on his face with a huge 
rock across his feet. The poor fellow was nearly speechless. I 
rolled off the stone, which had caused him much suffering. I then 
turned him on his back, placed his knapsack under his head, and 
gave him a drink from his canteen. This relieved him very 
much ; and I learned that in the assault of the evening he was 
shot through the breast, and lay down on this platform, when the 
rebels hurled down large rocks upon them, one of which fell on 
him. I stanched the wound in his breast, and on examination 
I found that his leg was badly fractured. I remained some time 
with him, listening to the poor fellow's little stories about his 
mother and his home, and how he should like to see them again ; 
and should he die, would not I write to them, and tell mother 
that " I died a soldier and a Christian," said the brave lad, for he 
was a mere boy. Next day he died under the scalpel knife, and 
I wrote to his mother that her noble boy died '' a soldier and a 
Christian." 

The previous evening, while riding near the field hospital of 
the 105tli Ohio, a shell, thrown from the rebel guns on the hill, 
burst among the patients, killing some of them. It is hard 
enough to see strong men stricken down in battle, but there is 
something harrowing in seeing poor helpless wounded wretches 
killed, as it were, twice. 



ROCKY PACE RIDGE. 37 

General Sherman had ordered that a heavy demonstration 
should be made all along the enemy's lines on the morning of 
the 8th of May. Schofield, on the extreme left, moved cau- 
tiously down the eastern side of the mountain, in order to draw 
the enemy's attention from Geary's attack on Mill Creek. The 
whole of Newton's division, of the 4th corps, had ascended the 
ridge during the night to support Harker. About 10 o'clock, 
Schofield ordered the 23d corps to wheel round and move in line 
of battle along the valley which separates the ridge from a par- 
allel range. The corps moved in echelon ; General Judah's 
division extended in double line of battle, connecting with Bar- 
ker's brigade on the ridge. General Cox's division moved along 
the slope and crest of a hill on the left, the front being protected 
by heavy lines of skirmishers. The rebels having fallen back. 
General Judah had made arrangements to assault. This move- 
ment was contingent upon the cooperation of Barker's troops 
on the top of the hill, but his advance was retarded by the des- 
perate nature of the resistance he encountered, which rendered 
him barely able to hold his own. The ridge rose cliff over 
cliff, as it receded towards the enemy's lines, so that Harker's 
advance was a continuation of desperate assaults. The roll of 
musketry from the hill top rang incessantly for over an hour, the 
enemy contesting every inch, every tree and rock, with deadly 
obstinacy. 

As he approached the gorge, a wall of rocks, bristling with 
guns and bayonets, vomiting forth a continuous volcano of lead 
and fire, checked him, compelling him to raise barricades to 
protect his lines. 

Connecting with Harker's right, but extending down Dog- 
wood Valley, west of the ridge, Generals Stanley and Woods, 
of the 4th corps, made repeated assaults upon the ridge, which 
were met by a fierce fire from behind every cliff and rock. 

Huge rocks were even rolled from the top of the ridge, 
which came down plunging from crag to crag, crashing and tear- 
ing among the trees, and sweeping through the advancing lines. 

Later in the day Croft's brigade, of Stanley's division, sup- 
ported by Mitchel's and Morgan's brigades, of Davis's division, 
4 



38 Sherman's march through the south. 

14tli corps, succeeded iu driving the enemy from a strong po- 
sition fti front of Buzzard E-oost. 

Hooker's corps, while on the right of Pahner's 14th corps, 
was hotly engaged all the afternoon. Ross's brigade, sup- 
ported by Colonel Woods' brigade, of Butterfield's division, 
participated in the assault on Buzzard Roost. 

Meantime Geary's division had moved to the right, in order 
to attempt the passage of Mill Creek Gap, and thus flank Dal- 
ton, which was only about three miles distant. Colonel Ire- 
land's brigade had been detached to support Kilpatrick in 
covering McPherson's flanking column, leaving only Colonel 
Jones's and Candle's brigades to execute the order. 

Mill Creek Gap is accessible by a road winding from Hall's 
Mill through a depression in the mountain. It was a formi- 
dable position, strongly defended. 

About 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Candle's brigade in ad- 
vance, supported by Jones's, moved up the sides of the moun- 
tain, under cover of a fire from Knapp's Pennsylvania battery. 
The enemy stubbornly resisted all the time, but were steadily 
driv^en back to the crest of the hill. In this gallant charge of 
Geary's division, through a dense wood, up a steep ascent, 
scrambling through rocks and tangled underbrush, many a brave 
felloAv fell. It was the dashing game and heroic achievement 
of Lookout Mountain again. 

Near the crest of the hill a palisade of abrupt cliffs checked 
their advance. Behind these lay lines of rebel troops. Against 
this our men made five consecutive assaults. Officers and men 
struggled up, one by one, and grappled with the enemy in a 
hand-to-hand conflict. Some succeeded in reaching the plateau. 
Some were hurled over, dragging the enemy in their death em- 
brace, and in their fall displacing rocks, which crushed and tore 
through the toiling, surging ranks. 

At length they gained a landing. Alas ! it availed them 
little ; for a volley of canister from a covered line of fortifica- 
tions on their flank soon cleared the rocky stage. Again was 
the charge repeated : again were their lines swept down. Ser- 
geant Hamilton, of a New Jersey regiment, and only ten men, 



ROCKY FACE RIDGE. 89 

defiantly held tlieir position until another column filled up the 
place of those who had fallen. General Geary, not having 
troops enough to attack the batteries, and seeing the impossi- 
bility of keeping the ridge, exposed to such an artillery fire, 
drew ofif his troops at 8 o'clock in the evening. His loss 
was — officers, three killed, fifteen wounded ; privates, fifty 
killed and two hundred and fifty wounded. 

Mea.ntime McPherson and Kilpatrick's cavalry were swing- 
ing around on Dalton, threatening to cut the railroad between 
that point and Resaca. 

This ended the heavy fighting around Rocky Face Ridge. It 
was evident that the enemy's position was too strong to be 
taken by assault, and that Sherman must resort to some stra- 
tegic movement. 

The 10th and 11th of May were spent in slight skirmish- 
ing and demonstrations to draw the enemy's attention from 
McPherson' s flank movement, and give us a chance of follow- 
ing him up with supports. 



40 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HEADQUARTERS OF THE GENERALS. — SUFFERINGS OF THE 
WOUNDED. — THE ENEMY'S POSITION AT RESACA. 

During the five or six days we lay in front of Rocky Face 
Ridge, the different corps and division commanders had their 
headquarters contiguous to their commands. Major General 
Howard, who commanded the 4th corps, had his unassuming 
quarters of fly tents in the rear of his command, and under fire 
of the enemy's long-range guns. Several shells fell quite near, 
creating some commotion in the camp, without disturbing How- 
ard in the least. Howard had ridden out in front of his lines, 
when he got struck by a spent ball. Meantime Sherman called 
at his quarters, and being told that they expected the general in 
every moment, he sat down, when whir-r goes a shell ; and 
another bursting quite near the quarters, some of Sherman's 
staff felt anxious about him, and suggested that it would be as 
well to go, as Howard was not likely to return soon. 

Sherman, in his nervous, fidgety way, was walking about, 
and spying General Howard, he exclaimed, " Here comes How- 
ard ! " As the latter rode up, Sherman said, " I say, Howard, 
do you know but you are the politest man in the army?" 
" Indeed, I wasn't aware of that, general." 

" Well, it's so. Here I am, in your absence ; and though 
you w^ere not here to receive me, I have got the warmest recep- 
tion I have experienced for a long time ! " 

"Why, general, you need not thank me for it, but General 
Johnston ; his compliments were so overpowering that one of 
them came near killing me ; " and he pointed to his pants torn 
by the bullet. 

Thomas's headquarters comprised a most gorgeous outlay of 



SOLDIERLY FORTITUDE. 41 

tents of all kinds ; wall tents, Sibley tents, fly tents, octagon 
tents, and all kinds of tents. Every officer had a tent ; almost 
every servant had a tent ; while the adjutant general's tent was 
a sort of open rebellion against all restrictory orders. A kind 
of caravan, full of pigeon holes, and covered over with an 
immense fly, was one of its most peculiar features. Sherman, 
on the contrary, had but one old wall tent, and some three or 
four flies, for his quarters. 

Whether it was that General Thomas felt sore at the con- 
trast, or General Sherman did not like the example set by 
General Thomas, he could never let slip an opportunity to pass 
a joke at Thomas's expense. 

He would frequently rein up his horse in front of Thomas's 
quarters, and ask, " Whose quarters are these?" 

" General Thomas's, general," woiild be the reply. 

" O, yes ; Thomastown — Thomasville ; a very pretty place, 
indeed ; appears to be growing rapidly ! " and he would chuckle 
and ride off. 

One thing that has forcibly impressed me, in the many bat- 
tle-fields I have been through — how heroically men undergo the 
most excruciating torture, almost without a murmur. A soldier 
thinks it an act of cowardice to cry or moan ; and the suffering 
that wrings one or the other from his brave bosom must be 
fearful indeed. 

" Won't you keep quiet? and don't be making a fool of your- 
self," I heard one wounded soldier say to another. 

*• O, dear me, I can't help it ; my arm is torn off," was the reply. 

" Your arm ! " said the other, with contempt, " why, my leg 
and arm are torn off, and I am making no fuss about them." 

It is in the hospital that a soldier's courage is tried. Men 
with the most fearful wounds will coolly ask, " Well, doctor, 
must you take it off? " alluding to some shattered limb. 

" Well, I fear so, my fine fellow." 

" Don't mind, doctor ; go at it ; the sooner it is over, the bet- 
ter. It's going in a good cause." 

Piles of legs and arms would be strewn about the new sub- 
jects, many of whom would be earnestly discussing the merits 
4* 



42 Sherman's march through the south. 

of the battle, while waiting their turn to come under the sur- 
geon's hands. 

War hardens the hearts of men, and renders them insensible 
to the sufferings of others. 

This is partly owing to the unceutainty of life, and to the 
fact that each man holds his life, as it were, in the palm of his 
hand ; besides, a soldier thinks it weak to mourn a fallen com- 
rade, no matter how dear. A painful instance of this came 
under my observation. A sergeant, a truly brave fellow, who 
had a brother deeply attached to him, was shot dead near me. 

The brother stooped down over his fallen kinsman, and find- 
ing him dead, coolly emptied his cartridge-box into his own, 
remarking to me, " Poor James ! wasn't he a brave soldier, 
captain ? " and then moved on with his comrades. 

The tract of country over which we now operated is extreme- 
ly fertile, as welL as picturesque. 

There are some very rich valleys lying in the shelter of the 
Raccoon and Lookout Mountains. 

The cultivated portions yield profitable returns of cereals 
and grasses. 

The country evidently abounds in mineral resources. Bitu- 
minous coal is found in large quantities, also iron ore. There 
are traces, too, of gold and copper. 

As the mineral resources* of Georgia and Tennessee have 
never been developed, it is not well known to what extent they 
exist. This picturesque region was formerly the hunting- 
ground of the Cherokees, a remnant of which tribe still inhabits 
the country between the Holston River and the frontiers of 
Carolina. 

The march of the 4th corps lay near Catoosa Springs, where 
they bivouacked for a night before their advance on Rocky Face 
Ridge. 

These fine mineral springs are said to possess great healing 
powers, and were much resorted to by invalids for health, and 
the wealthy for pleasure. They were situated in an opening in 
the forest. The lands about were tastefully laid out in plots 
and walks, and a very fine hotel and several cottages afforded 



" THE GREAT FLANKER." 43 

accommodation. Not far from this is a mound of loose stones, 
raised to the memory of a Cherokee chief, who, in the war of 
independence, saved the patriot army from a joint surprise of 
the English and Indians by deserting and swimming across the 
Chattahoochee River and apprising tliem of their danger. 

The country was thinly inhabited, only small sections of land 
along the roads being cleared. 

Flowers and shrubs of the most gorgeous kind appear indige- 
nous to Georgia. Even at this early season the forests were 
blooming with them, making the air redolent with their rich 
odor. Where the flowers and shrubs were cultivated around 
the houses, it was pleasant to see the bees and humming-birds 
darting from one to another. It was peace in the midst of war. 

General Sherman, finding the enemy's position too formidable 
to be taken by direct assault, now inaugurated his flanking 
tactics, which have earned him the sobriquet of " the great 
flanker." McPherson's movements would have rendered his 
victory decisive had his assaults in front succeeded, for he 
could have struck their broken ranks on the flank by wedging 
in between them and Resaca. 

This having failed, Shei^man's object now was to reenforce 
McPherson, at the same time leaving a sufficient force in the 
enemy's front to keep them in check and follow up their retreat. 
It was not practicable to make the flank movement on the left, 
as the mountain range extended back towards the Oostanaula 
River in broken ridges. The attempt would only bring the 
flanking party into other gorges like Buzzard Roost. About 
fifteen miles south of Buzzard Roost is a large gap or defile in 
the mountain, called Snake Creek Gap, and within about seven 
miles of Resaca. 

This was the objective point aimed at by McPherson, and 
was the only available passage for Sherman's army. McPherson 
met little opposition from the enemy on his line of march. He 
observed the strictest silence, every man being instructed not 
to tell even their commands. 

" To what corps do you belong? " I asked of some stragglers 
whom I met plodding along the road. 



44 Sherman's biarch through the south. 

" Corps is it? Sure we belong to Sherman's army. Do you 
know' old fighting Billy ? " 

" I asked you to what corps you belong." 

" Cap, dear, it is too wet to tell you ; don't you see the state 
we are in ? and we in such a hurry to get up before night. Let 
us move on, Hugh." 

On the 9th McPherson marched from Villanow through 
Snake Creek Gap, where they were opposed only by a small 
party, which were soon routed by the 9th Illinois mounted in- 
fantry, in which skirmish their commander. Lieutenant Colonel 
Philips, was severely wounded. General Dodge, commanding 
the 16th corps, led McPherson's advance, and by a rapid move- 
ment secured the Gap, Avhile Logan, with his 15th corps, passed 
tlu-ough. 

McPherson's army defiled through the Gap, marched through 
Sugar Valley, and occupied, without opposition, a range of hills 
overlooking Resaca and commanding the railroad bridge across 
the Oostanaula. These hills were occupied by Logan and Dodge 
at 8 o'clock in the morning. Sherman's instructions to Mc- 
Pherson were imperative to take Resaca and destroy the rail- 
road bridge. 

McPherson, finding several good roads leading north and 
south, thus endangering his left flank, while he could 'find no 
safe road to advance his army on, — besides, the enemy seemed 
to be strongly intrenched, and in force around Resaca, — got dis- 
couraged, and rapidly fell back at night, under a pitiless storm, 
to the southern mouth of Snake Creek Gap. 

This retrograde movement of McPherson's has been censured 
very much ; for had he intrenched himself in his new position, 
he could keep Johnston's army at bay until he would be reen- 
forced. Had he held this point, his force would have full com- 
mand of the town and railroad, thus compelling Johnston to 
make a detour to the left in order to cross the river — a thing 
which he could not well do, through impracticable roads and 
pressed by a superior army. 

A squad of the 9th Illinois remained after the troops as skir- 
mishers ; and so little was the opposition they met that they 



SUFFERING OF THE TROOPS. 45 

succeeded in tearing up some of the rails and cutting the tele- 
graph wires, and then safely returned to camp next day. 

Sherman had now decided to debouch, with the bulk of his 
army, through Snake Creek Gap, leaving Howard to keep the 
enemy in check and follow up their retreat. The rest of the 
army was to follow up the army of the Tennessee on the night 
of the 10th ; but a fierce thunder and rain storm set in, thus 
retarding the movement. The 11th, too, was excessively wet, 
cold, and unpleasant. 

Some of our troops who had marched from Ringgold to sup- 
port McPherson suffered severely. Their blankets became so 
wet and heavy after the previous day and night's rain and mud 
they threw them away. They had no cover, neither would the 
green, saturated wood, light ; so they had to suffer all night with 
cold and hunger, having but the poor shelter of the dripping 
pines. 

" This is a comfortable bed," said a bright-eyed boy, who 
was stretched upon a pile of brush to keep him from the ground, 
while some of his comrades were vainly trying to light a fire 
beside him, their effort being rewarded with thick volumes of 
smoke. 

" An' haven't you a nice mattress anyhow?" 

" Yes ; but the roof leaks dreadfully." 

" Well, don't mind ; there is one comfort; I guess a good 
many of us will have hospital accommodations to-morrow." 

"Boys, let us get up a song; it will do us good," said 
another. 

" No, let us have prayers, and thank the Lord for all his 
favors, though we have had no supper," said a cynic. 

They compromised the matter by praying and singing to- 
gether. In this light-hearted way did this gi^and army bear 
hardships and hunger that might dishearten the most patriotic. 

The contest for Rocky Face Ridge had now subsided into a 
straggling fire, which we kept up to cover our flank movement. 
It was not, properly speaking, a battle, though in the days of 
the revolution, or the war of 1812, it might be dignified with 
that title. 



46 Sherman's march through the south. 

We live in an age Avlien thousands of men have been pitted 
against each other in the most deadly strife, when battle fol- 
lowed battle in rapid and painful succession, and when armies 
have been recuperated as fast as decimated. Personal as well as 
political animosities imbittered the combat. One party fought 
for the great principles of free government and national unity ; 
the others, many, no doubt, under the mistaken notion that 
they were fighting for their liberty, their homes, and their altars. 
Both sides fought gallantly; one with frenzied desperation, 
the other with a firm purpose and resolute perseverance. 
Their ministers prayed loudly, and called on God to smite the 
opposing hosts and protect the right. 

In such a struggle, excited by religious and political fanatics 
and fire-eaters, no wonder that the result was one of the blood- 
iest wars that stain the pages of history. Before it, the wars 
of the Roses, of Charlemagne, and even of Napoleon himself, 
pale into insignificance. 

It is true, this was considered no battle, though our total loss 
would number near one thousand, and our lines extended nearly 
twenty miles. Hooker's corps, the 20th, was now close up to 
McPherson, and Palmer's corps, the 14th, and Newton's di- 
vision of the 4th corps, Howard's, had followed, moving by the 
right flank ; Schofield came next with his 23d corps. 

On the night of the 12tli and morning of the 13th General 
Johnston fell back from Rocky Face Ridge and Dalton with 
the main portion of his army, leaving a small force behind to 
check our advance. 

Resaca was now threatened by Sherman's main army, which 
was massed in Snake Creek Gap and Sugar Valley, closing in 
on Johnston's rear. His present position was no longer tenable ; 
so he concentrated all his force at Resaca, in order to meet 
Sherman's attack on his flank. 

On the evening of the 13th sharp skirmishing ensued along 
the lines, the enemy resisting our attempt to take up our posi- 
tion. General Osterhaus with his division pushed forward, and 
occupied a hill on the right of the road overlooking Resaca. 

We could plainly distinguish the enemy's lines and works. 



GENERAL KILPATRICK WOUNDED. 47 

Their wagons and ambulances lay packed right in view, while 
their huge trains were laboring up and down to the bridge. 
Captain De Grass, of the 15th corps, soon got his guns into 
position, and opened on them, driving them under shelter. The 
skirmishers along our front were keeping up a rattling fire. 

General Kilpatrick had brilliantly skirmished all day in front 
of our advance, for the woods and hills were full of rebel sharp- 
shooters. A bullet Avhizzed from every tree and crag, bringing 
down his brave men. On he passed, driving them back from 
point to point, until at length the dashing Kilpatrick fell, badly 
wounded through the thigh. Colonel Murray then assumed 
the command of his men, and vigorously continued the pursuit. 

Herron's division, of Logan's corps, had a brisk engagement 
with the enemy, who disputed their advance into position. 
Kilpatrick was Avounded near a cross road, where a board in- 
forms you that it is " three miles to Calhoun Ford." At this 
point Giles A. Smith, marching in double quick, moved to the 
right, while Morgan L. Smith deployed along the Calhoun road, 
on the right of the Resaca road. Herron connected with 
Osterhaus. This was the position of the 15th corps on the 
night of the 13th. The other corps had not yet taken up 
position. 



48 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER V. 

SKETCHES OF OUR GENERALS. — PERSONNEL OF SHERMAN", THOMAS, 
SCHOFIELD, HOOKER, McPHERSON", LOGAN, AND GEARY. 

Sherman, attended by one staff officer and an orderly, had 
ridden up the valley to the front. He was anxious and nervous, 
as was evident from the fierce manner he pulled at his unlit 
cigar, and twitched that strange, coarse face of his. 

His ride through the lines created no enthusiasm. His old 
15th corps alone brightened up, and looked the better for his 
presence. They fully knew — " Old Billy." 

Sherman was, at all times, too cold and undemonstrative for 
the jnen to love him. They had unbounded confidence in him, 
and believed whatever he did was right, and that is all. If 
sent on any expedition, no matter how hazardous or apparently 
useless, their only reply was, — *' Well, boys, if Old Billy said 
so, it's all right." 

McPherson by his noble bearing and dashing appearance, 
Hooker by his fine martial presence and princely air, Logan 
by his dashing, kind manner, might create enthusiasm among 
troops, but Sherman or Thomas never. 

On the morning of this day, the following incident occurred. 

Sherman was anxiously engaged maturing his plans the 
previous night. Next day, wearied and sleepy, he sat on a 
log, beside a shady tree, to rest himself, and soon fell asleep. 
He had but a single orderly with him ; and few of the men, as 
they marched by, knew that he was Sherman. 

" Is that a general? " asked one of the men. 

" Yes," said the orderly. 

"A pretty way we are commanded when our generals are 
lying drunk beside the road ! " exclaimed the soldier, walking 
off in disgust. 



COLLOQUY OF THE GENERALS. 49 

" Stop, ray man," said Sherman, jumping up ; for Sherman 
sleeps with one eye and one ear, too, open, and heard him. 
"Stop, my man. I am not drunk. While you were sleeping 
last night, I was planning for you, sir ; and now I was taking a 
nap. General Sherman never gets drunk, sir." 

The soldier slunk away, and never minded a sleeping general 
again. 

Sherman had ridden up to the front, and a council of generals 
was held at that little cross where the road branches for Resaca 
and Hilton. He alighted, walked up and doAvn beside the group 
for some minutes, and then turning to them, exclaimed, — 

" Johnston has evacuated Rocky Face and Dalton, and is fast 
massing around Resaca." 

*' So I understand," replied Logan ; " I have heard so from 
prisoners captured by Kilpatrick's cavalry, and have sent an aid 
to you with the account." 

" Ah, Kilpatrick, is he much wounded? " 

" Rather badly, general ; shot through the thigh." 

" Ah, sorry for it ; but, Logan, I have heard that news before 
you, and, of course, expected it. Johnston is too wily to let us 
get in behind him. Well, it was the only way of getting them 
out of that d — d place ; but they will make a desperate stand 
here ; it is a strong position. I know every inch of country 
here ; you know I was a military professor down here at 
Marietta. Well, we must get them out of this too. McPher- 
son, had you held this position when you first occupied it, they 
would find themselves in a nice trap." 

"General," replied McPherson, " I found my flanks ^posed, 
and open to them by good roads, whilst I had not a single road 
by which reenforcements could come up, if attacked ; so I fell 
back to a stronger position." 

" O, psha ! It can't be helped now, though." 

As I cannot repeat every word said at that council, I will 
only state that they decided on a vigorous attack on all points. 
McPherson was to guard the Oostanaula, and open on Resaca ; 
if possible, throw a portion of his forces over it, and destroy 
the bridge. ^ 

5 



50 Sherman's march through the south. 

Schofield was to support Howard, wlio was hoav thundering 
after Johnston, while Hooker, supported by Palmer, was to 
make a vigorous assault on the range of hills west of Resaca. 
This was a strong post, and, in fact, the key-stone of the rebel 
position. 

While they are engaged in council, I will sketch them in 
detail. 

Major General William Tecumseh Sherman is near six feet 
high ; but his spare frame gives him the appearance of being 
over this. His face is rather sharp and angular, and cov- 
ered with a short, grizzly beard, of a sandy color. His eyes are 
piercing, with something of a harsh, cruel expression about 
them. His manner of speaking is rapid and rather sarcastic. 
His hands are continually twisting about, and his features 
twitching, as if suffering from pain. 

As a soldier, he has been Avonderfully successful ; he has had 
the wisdom to avail himself of the counsel of others, and to 
draw his own conclusions, and act energetically upon them. 
Though some of his movements savored of rashness, when 
calmly weiglied, they showed the good judgment and military 
genius that conceived them. 

Hooker assaulted the enemy at Pumpkin Vine Creek by his 
orders, and though pretty well used up, succeeded in developing 
the enemy's position, and drawing their attention from McPher- 
son's attack on Dallas. 

Again, the assault on Kennesaw, in which the noble Harker 
fell, might appear rash and uncalculating ; but had it succeeded 
it would have split Johnston's army in two, and thus exposed it 
to wholesale destruction. I think he displayed more judgment 
in his march through Carolina, from the admirable manner in 
which he baffled and confounded the enemy, than in any other 
of his campaigns. In manner he is rather dictatorial, even to 
his generals. He gives his orders in a blunt, decisive fashion, 
without any courteous prefacing, and in such a way as to make 
it evident that they are to be obeyed. 

When once he forms an opinion, he acts upon it with an 
unbending, uncompromising resolve. 



CHARACTER OP GENERAL THOMAS. 51 

He has little reserve in concealing his opinions of other 
officers ; and, if displeasing to him, he handles them in a bold, 
caustic manner, keeping them in torture as long as possible. 

When unbent, and enjoying the sociability of a convivial 
hour, he is rather agreeable ; can laugh heartily, and contest 
the palm for joking with Father Abe himself. 

I once heard an officer, who had just spent an hour with 
him, listening to his keen, comprehensive views of the war, and 
to some of his raciest tales and anecdotes, say, — 

" Well, after all, Sherman's bark is worse than his bite." 

On the whole, he is a cold, ascetic, nervous, irritable mian, 
who commands admiration more for his brilliant qualifications 
as a general, than for any good or amiable traits he possesses as 
a man. 

Major General Thomas is quite the reverse of Sherman, both 
in manner and appearance. He is tall, stout, with brawny 
frame and shoulders. His head is slightly bent forward, as if 
drooping with thought and care. His hair and beard, which he 
wears cut pretty short, are rather dark, and slightly sprinkled 
with gray. He is about fifty years of age, and looks his ago 
fully 

He is very reserved ; speaks little. His cold, phlegmatic 
features never wea,r a smile, or, if he smiles, "he smiles in such 
a sort as if he mocked himself, and scorned the spirit that could 
be moved to smile at anything." 

As a general, Thomas is calm and cautious ; does everything 
by rule ; leaves nothing to chance. He makes his arrangements 
for a battle with caution and foresight, and is sure to have every 
column and division move with clock-work regularity, and strike 
at the proper time and place. 

Nothing disturbs or unnerves him. 

At Chickamauga, when our right and centre were crushed, 
and McCook's and Crittenden's forces were falling back in full 
retreat, shattered, broken, and routed, Thomas was as cool as 
if nothing was going wrong. 

He was resolved to hold the left at all odds. The enemy 
massed their troops against him, and repeatedly assaulted him ; 



52 Sherman's march through the south. 

but he held that position all that long afternoon, despite the 
repeated assaults of Bragg, and the masses hurled against him, 
thus saving the army from what before seemed an irretrievable 
defeat. 

Again, at Nashville, he was calmly making his preparations 
to meet Hood, while Schofield was slowly falling back, all the 
time holding Hood in check with only two corps, thus giving 
Thomas time to mature his plans. And when Hood lay down 
before Nashville to besiege it, the President, Grant, and the 
country were surprised and becoming disheartened because 
Thomas was not attacking him. Thomas heard all this, knew 
all this, but he followed his own inclination. The cry was loud 
against him. An order was issued to relieve him from com- 
mand. All this did not move him until he had his arrange- 
ments made, and then he swept down upon Hood, crushing up 
his army, and totally destroying the rebel forces in the south- 
west. 

Major General Schofield, commanding the department of the 
Ohio, is a middle-sized, stout man, of very pleasing appearance 
and address. His hair is rather short — his beard long and 
flowing. 

He, too, is rather taciturn and retired, but possessed of a 
great deal of vigor and judgment. 

His services as an officer have been rather brilliant. In 
Sherman's campaign, he commanded the 23d corps. This 
corps had been recently made up of raw, undisciplined material 
from Tennessee and Kentucky. Schofield soon remodelled it, 
so that it rendered as efficient service as any other corps during 
Sherman's Atlanta campaign. The masterly manner in which 
Schofield, with only two corps, the 4th and 23d, checked Hood's 
advance, as he fell back to Nashville, stamps him as one of the 
great generals of the day. His defeat of Hood, at Franklin, 
was the first crushing blow to his army, which was so admi- 
rably followed up at Nashville. These were followed by his 
subsequent military services and able administration of affairs 
in Carolina. 

Major General Joe Hooker, the beau ideal of a gentleman 



AND HOWARD. 53 

and a soldier, is of a noble, portly appearance, with fine 
features, and a complexion soft and clear as a woman's. 
He is kind and courteous to all, without compromising his 
dignity. He was beloved by his officers, almost adored by his 
men, who, on account of his well-established bravery, called him 
" fighting Joe." 

His career of a soldier would have been a brilliant record of 
dashing exploits — of noble victories — had not Chancellorsville 
thrown its dark blot upon him. Well-informed persons attribute 
our disastrous failure there to Halleck's interference. Be this 
as it may. Hooker bears the odium. 

There is no doubt there was a jealous clique bent on ruining 
him, even at the cost of the welfare and honor of their country ; 
and they partly succeeded. 

Hooker's services in the west were of the most brilliant 
nature. His charge at Lookout Mountain, where the roar and 
din of battle was high above the fogs and clouds in the valley ; 
at Resaca, where he crushed in the centre of Johnston's army ; 
at Pea Vine Creek, where with his single corps he charged the 
bulk of the rebel army ; and before Atlanta, where he repulsed 
the mad assaults of two rebel corps, — will stand forth in 
history as some of the noblest exploits of the war. 

Major General McPherson, commanding the army of the 
Tennessee, was a noble-looking man, of fine, dignified appear- 
ance. He was a courteous, refined gentleman, an educated 
general, -and brave oificer. His hair and whiskers were dark 
and flowing, his features well defined and expressive. He had 
fully the confidence of General Sherman, as a general, and" took 
a distinguished part with him in all his great battles, until he 
fell on that fatal 22d of July, in front of Atlanta, in the thirty- 
sixth year of his age. 

Major General O. O. Howard, then commanding the 4th 
corps, afterwards the army of the Tennessee, is a man of slight 
frame, and apparently delicate constitution, of a grave, pleasing 
demeanor, and of most affable and courteous manner. He has 
served all through the war, lost his right arm at Fair Oaks, 
under McClellan, commanded the 11th corps at the battles of 
5* 



54 Sherman's march through the south. 

Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He was then sent to the 
west, and when the 11th and 12th corps were consolidated into 
the 20th, he got command of the 4th corps. He is a man 
imbued with a deep spirit of religion, and a true sense of his 
great responsibility. 

His religious example and precept had a most salutary effect 
on his troops. He might be justly called the Havelock of the 
army. He was indefatigable in the discharge of his duties, 
and attentive to the Avants and wishes of his men. 

As a soldier he has won a high reputation, both for his cool 
bearing in danger, and his judgment in the disposition of 
his troops. His military services with Sherman, all through 
Georgia and the Carolinas, haVe been remarkably brilliant and 
successful, and mainly contributed to the great results. 

General John A. Logan, or, as he was more familiarly called, 
" Black Jack," is of middle stature, compact, well-knit frame. 
His face is regular, but almost bronze, showing unmistakable 
evidence of his Franco-Celtic lineage. 

He has a glorious pair of dark eyes, that scintillate beneath 
his heavy brows, and dark hair. A heavy, curved mustache 
covers his well-formed mouth. Such is his appearance, and his 
fighting qualities are in accordance. 

Logan and his 15th corps have been through almost every 
battle-field of the west ; and wherever his banner floated, down 
went the enemy's. His military career is a full record of 
dashing heroism, from Shiloh's bloody field to Johnston's sur- 
render in North Carolina. 

Though Logan is a civilian general, despite the prejudices 
existing against such, his military genius could not be over- 
looked ; so he rose to the command of the army of the Ten- 
nessee. 

There are men who are soldiers by inspiration. Logan is 
one. 

West Point may mould him, and instruct him in the rudi- 
ments of war ; but it could not infuse into many the spirit and 
military genius of John A. Logan. 

He, and Brevet Major General John Geary, who commanded 



GENERAL GEARY. 55 

the second division of Hooker's corps, were strong evidences 
of this. 

Geary, too, was a civilian general, and won fame and 
reputation upon field after field, — upon the bloody crest of 
Lookout Mountain, upon the rugged clifi*s of Mill Creek, — 
though every action that many a trained West Point veteran 
should feel proud of. Of civilian soldiers, he and Logan stand 
amidst the foremost. 



56 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER VI. 

BATTLE OF RES ACA. — WHAT IT COST TO TAKE TWO GUNS. — TER- 
RIBLE SCENES ON THE BATTLE-FIELD. — OUR LOSSES. 

Resaca is situated on a bend of the Oostanaula River, which 
curves towards the east. It is a small place, of little importance 
except what it has historically acquired from the great struggle 
enacted there. It is on the north bank, and a station of the 
Western and Atlantic Railroad, and about eighteen miles south 
of Dalton. 

Across the peninsula formed by the bend of the river the 
rebels had thrown up a strong, continuous line of intrench- 
ments, strengthened by fortifications. Both their flanks rested 
on the river, thus forming a kind of semicircle, with the river 
for its arc. 

The Oostanaula River is formed by the junction of the Cone- 
sauga and Coosewattee, which meet in Cass County, and form 
a junction with the Etowah at Rome. 

On the morning of the 14th the rebels held a strong position 
behind Camp Creek. At an early hour skirmishing opened on 
the right of our line, and soon extended along our front. 
Toward noon, Howard, who was pressing on the enemy's, rear 
in their retreat from Dalton, succeeded in effecting a junction 
with Schofield. Our whole force was now in line. Howard 
occupied the extreme left, his flank resting on the railroad ; 
Schofield joined his right ; Hooker had wheeled from the right 
and fell in on Schofield's right ; Palmer, next, with Logan and 
Wood, with two divisions of the 16th corps, on the extreme 
right. 

Sherman had ordered a pontoon bridge to be thrown across 
the Oostanaula at Day's Ferry, in the direction of Calhoun. 



BATTLE OF RESACA. 57 

Sweeny's division, of the 16th corps, was ordered to protect 
it. General Gerrard was ordered to advance his cavalry from 
Villanow across the Oostanaiila, and, if possible, break the 
railroad between Calhoun and Kingston. General McPhersou 
had crossed Camp Creek, and made a lodgment close on the 
enemy's flank. 

On the afternoon of the 14:th, General Schofield moved his 
column in line of battle, through a dense wood, with the inten- 
tion of piercing the enemy's centre. General Judah, command- 
ing the second division, advanced on the right, with General 
Cox supporting on the left. Judah moved his column rapidly 
over an open valley, then through a thick wood, until he reached 
an open space which divided him from the enemy. Owing to 
the slowness of his movements, or to the impracticable nature 
of the country, Cox's advance was not as forward as Judah's. 
As Judah deployed his column out of the woods, a valley of 
some five hundred yards in width separated him from the ene- 
my. Judah, believing that Cox was advancing simultaneous- 
ly with him, or thinking that the enemy were not ia force on 
the other side, or acting from imperative orders, charged right 
across the valley, when one dense, continuous, withering fire 
opened from masked batteries and concealed lines on the other 
side. His first line was broken, and fell back on his second. 
This rallied under the fierce storm of shot and shell, and 
advanced, but was also broken. After repeated attempts to 
form his lines and rally, Judah was forced to fall back to the 
shelter of the woods and works in his rear. Owinoj to the 
abrupt, impracticable nature of the ground, he was not able 
to place his artillery in position to cover his advance. By this 
time the wood had been cleared away from the crest of the hill, 
and our artillery got into position. I was then acting aid and 
captain on General Judah's staff. My horse was lamed by a 
piece of rock, splintered by a round shot, striking him in the 
leg, and I was leading him to the rear, when I met Major, now 
Colonel Wherry, of Schofield's staff, riding in. 

" Good God, Captain C," he exclaimed, " where is Gen- 
eral Judah ? " 



58 Sherman's march through the south. 

" He is at the front, trying to rally His broken line," I replied. 

*' I Tfant to see him ; where are the rest of his aids? " 

" Two of them are there near that rock ; " and I pointed 
them out. 

He rode over to them ; they refused to go in, and he turned to 
me, exclaiming, " What will I do?" 

" Well, major, my horse is lame ; dismount an orderly, and 
I will go in." 

He did so. I went in, accompanied by the brave, dashing 
Major Wherry. We succeeded in reaching Judah's position 
between the contending batteries, though shot and shell were all 
the time ploughing through the ranks, and mowing down the col- 
umns and trees around us. Judah persisted in keeping his 
position, but wished Hovey's Indiana division to come to his 
support, and requested me to lead it in. While riding out to do 
so, a rifle bullet glanced off a tree, and struck me in the breast. 
Fortunately, I had a book stuffed with papers inside my vest, 
which turned its course. It stunned me, however, and for a 
moment I lay senseless beside a tree. Having recovered my- 
self, I rode forward, and brought in Hovey's division to Judah's 
support. For this act General Schofield warmly thanked me, and 
General Judah presented me with a most complimentary letter.* 

It was evening. Cox's division had now become fully en- 
gaged. The battle had grown pretty hot on the left. Both Cox 
and Judah were so badly pressed that they could scarcely hold 
their position, had not General Stanley's division, of Howard's 
corps, come up to our support, swinging round on the left so as 
to extend his line toward Dalton. Stanley became fiercely en- 
gaged, and made a desperate resistance ; but the enemy had 

* Cedar Springs, Ga., May 18, 1864. 
Captain D. P. Conyngham, Acting A. D. C. 

Captain : — I cannot disrupt the associations that bind me to my personal staff, 
without thanking you for the many services you have rendered me. The gallant 
manner in wlflch you have conveyed my orders, under a heavy fire, during the 
fearful ordeal to which my division was subjected on the 14th instant, not only 
commands my acknowledgment and admiration, but attests my long confirmed 
opinion that the Irish soldier is the nonpareil of a soldier. 

With the best wishes of your chief for your future success and welfare, 
I am truly yours, 

J. H. Judah, Brigadier General U. 8. A. 



BATTLE OP RESACA. 59 

massed their troops in this position, and strove hard to turn our 
flank. Sherman, seeing the severe nature of the attack on this 
position, had ordered Hooker to move two of his divisions, that 
were in reserve, to support Howard and Schofield. Stanley's 
troops had made a splendid resistance ; but wearied from a long 
march, and overpowered by numbers, were gradually losing 
ground, when Williams's division, of the 20th corps — a portion 
of the old 12th corps — had come to their support. They dash- 
ingly threw themselves to the front, beating back the enemy 
with fearful slaughter, and retaking a battery that had been 
wrested from Stanley's division. 

While this stubborn conflict was raging on the left, McPherson 
was busily engaged on the right. He had thrown Logan's corps 
across the creek, and occupied the heights on the east bank of 
the stream, overlooking the town. This movement had not 
been accomplished without hard fighting. The rebel batteries 
along the heights poured a dreadful storm of shot and shell upon 
Logan's advance. McPherson, in order to neutralize this, had 
placed batteries on the heights on the west bank of the stream, 
annoying the rebel batteries, and thus giving a chance to Logan 
to charge across the stream, and take possession of the ridge of 
hills commanding the rebel position around Resaca. In this 
day's battle the enemy had been foiled in attempting to turn our 
left flank, and had lost some important positions on their own 
left. In fact, Logan had succeeded in turning it, and exposing 
Resaca, and also their line of escape across the river. 

It was generally stated and believed that a portion of Polk's 
troops from Mobile had arrived in the course of the day, and 
were hastening up to Johnston's support. 

The country around was a succession of mounds, or large 
hills. The rebel line of battle extended in one circuitous line 
around these. The crest and slopes of these hills were sheltered 
by forest trees, which concealed their batteries and fortifications, 
the underbrush giving shelter to their skirmishers and sharp- 
shooters. During the night and early morning, Hooker had 
massed Geary's and Williams's divisions under cover of a strong 
hill on his front ; Butterfield had not yet taken up position. 



60 Sherman's march through the south. 

The rebels had now occupied a strong position ; stronger, 
even, ihan on the former day, and the battle of the 15th 
threatened to be a desperate one. Their lines were now 
considerably depressed, but protected by strong works on the 
left flank, by a deep stream and marshy banks on the centre, and 
by the Oostanaula on the right. In this position Johnston had 
drawn up his troops in line of battle, scarcely three miles in 
extent ; while our line, occupying the outer line of a semicircle, 
was much more extended. Hooker was ordered to assault and 
take the position in his front. It was a strong one, protected 
by natural and artificial impediments of the most formidable 
kind. Sherman had ordered it to be taken, and taken it must be. 
It was a lofty elevation of hills, covered with a dense growth 
of timber and brushwood. Every nook and corner was bur- 
rowed with rifle-pits and intrenchments. Hooker's line of bat- 
tle advanced from the south-west, barely skimming the western 
base of the hill, and then crossed a deep valley in a more north- 
erly direction, extending to a commanding elevation we had 
gained the previous day. 

It was noon before Butterfield's division got into position. 
Hooker had now arranged his columns. Butterfield's division 
was deployed in columns by brigades. For some time. Hooker 
was at a loss to know which range was occupied by the enemy, 
and which to attack ; but they soon discovered themselves by 
opening on us from the hill on the left of the road. Colonel 
Woods's brigade, of Butterfield's division, charged the enemy's 
position on the left, while General Ward's brigade charged that 
on the right, supported by Colonel Colburn's brigade. The col- 
umn on the right advanced up the hill steadily, bravely, as if on 
parade, driving back the rebel sharpshooters and skirmisliers to 
their works. Over the hill they swept ; down the valley in double 
quick time ; across it, raked by a withering fire from the rebel 
artillery ; up the opposite hill towards its base, where they met 
a regular shower of shell and bullets ; yet on they swept, plunged 
through the woods, striving desperately to gain its ascent. Colo- 
nel Colburn's brigade was now advancing to their relief, when 
a conflict of the most awful kind ensued for that hill. The reb- 



BATTLE OF RESACA. 61 

els here unmasked several batteries, "wliich staggered our columns 
for a moment by the shower of canister they poured into our 
lines. In the dense thickets, Colburn's men opened fire on 
Ward's brigade ; but some officers rushed to the front, and cor- 
rected this mistake. Ward had now gained the hill, and charged 
on the works, but fell, wounded. Colonel Harrison now led on 
the brigade. Their general fallen, their ranks broken, the gal- 
lant fellows had to fall back to the shelter of another hill. 

A correspondent relates the following incident : " As we were 
falling back, the rebels, thinking that we had been repulsed, 
cheered lustily. This stung the gallant color-bearer of the 
127th Illinois, named Hess. Springing back to the embrasure, 
he floated the colors defiantly at the enemy. Brave fellow ! his 
death atoned for his rashness. A rebel shot him through the 
heart. Other hands took up the flag with a similar fate." 

Colonel Woods's brigade encountered but little resistance in 
its first advance ; but on gaining the crest of the hill, he found 
the timber cleared away on the other side, thus exposing his 
lines to an open fire from the enemy. Large masses of troops 
had moved across the open fields between the Dalton road and 
the railroad, as if attempting a flank movement. This was but 
a feint to cover a real attack ; for soon a whole division burst 
on Colonel Woods's front. They came charging up the clear 
slope in double quick, and with a fierce yell. Woods's men 
reserved their fire until they came right up to them, and then 
poured a deadly volley into the column. They faltered, rallied, 
charged ; but the same deadly fire thinned their lines, and drove 
them back. Again the rebels rallied, and would have crushed 
Woods's columns, had not General Knipe's brigade just then 
come to their assistance. Knipe charged directly into the rebel 
columns at the point of the bayonet. 

Though largely outnumbered, his gallant brigade returned 
volley for volley, and bravely maintained their position until 
their general fell wounded, when the column steadily fell back, 
bearing their general with them. They also brought back a 
number of prisoners, and the battle-flags of the 38th and 58th 
Alabama. Our batteries all along our front continued all day 
6 



62 Sherman's march through the south. 

pouring the deadly storm of lead upon the enemy, in order to 
cover the charges of Hooker and Logan. 

As night approached, Hooker reenforced his front, and re- 
newed the charge, with the most brilliant results, driving back 
the rebels from their works, capturing four guns, a number of 
flags, and seven hundred prisoners. 

The brunt of the battle fell upon Butterfield's and Williams's 
divisions, which fought splendidly. 

Geary's division was but slightly engaged, being held in 
reserve. 

No serious engagement took place all day at any other point 
of the line. 

They all skirmished briskly with the enemy, in order to dis- 
tract their attention from Hooker's assault. 

The skirmishing in Logan's front, on the right, brought on a 
sharp engagement at that point. 

Night had set in. The ground was strewn with the dead 
and wounded. Our men slept beside their arms, for the rebel 
lines were quite close to them. The living, the dying, and the 
dead slept beside one another. We could hear the stealthy 
tramp of moving troops, and the rumble of wagons. 

There was much conjecture as to whether the enemy were 
retreating, or bringing forward supports and artillery to renew 
the conflict in the morning. 

During the day's battle we had temporarily seized a rebel 
battery, but were unable to hold it ; but succeeded in dragging 
two guns from the embrasure, and into a trench near the works. 
As we did so, the rebel batteries opened a converging fire on 
the spot, and compelled us to retreat ; so the guns lay there 
between both lines, and neither side dare touch them. Some of 
our men organized a volunteer party to bring in the guns at 
night. They clubbed together in a little valley near the fort, 
and waited until everything was silent, except the mournful cry 
of the whippoorwill, the groans of the wounded, and the tramp 
of the sentry. 

They then stole to jthe fort, tied ropes to the pieces, and were 
dragging them away, when the rebels jumped up and fired on 



SAD SCENES ON THE BATTLE-FIELD. 63 

them. The rebel batteries, having the range since the previous 
evening, swept across the little fort. Our pickets fired ; our 
skirmishers fired ; and soon our columns had sprung up, seized 
their arms, and opened a fierce volley through the dark woods ; 
they did not know where, or for what. Our batteries, too, 
took up the horrid din, and the whole combined to make the 
night hideous with the unearthly shrieking and hissing of shells 
and bullets. 

Covered by the confusion, the rebels commenced retreating ; 
and ere morning dawned their main body had crossed the 
Oostanaula. After some time the firing ceased; the wearied 
troops again lay down beside their arms to repose. 

On the following morning I went to see that point where our 
troops fought so desperately, and grappled in a hand-to-hand 
death conflict with the foe. 

The work was a lunette, just on the crest of a hill, and well 
masked by some trees and brushwood around it. 

This was thickly strewn with the dead and wounded. Inside 
and around the work rebel and Union officers and men lay piled 
together ; some transfixed with bayonet wounds, their faces 
wearing that fierce, contorted look that marks those who have 
suffered agony. Others, who were shot dead, lay with their 
calm faces and glassy eyes turned to heaven. One might think 
they were but sleeping. 

Others had their skulls crushed in by the end of a musket, 
while the owner of the musket lay stiff beside them, with the 
death grip tightened on the piece. 

Clinging to one of the guns, with his hand on the spoke, and 
his body bent as if drawing it, lay a youth with the top of his 
head shot off. Another near him, his body cut in two, still 
clung to the ropes. 

Can a rescued nation sufficiently revere the memories of such 
heroes? 

Men writhing in pain, men stark and cold ; broken caissons, 
rifles, and bayonets ; bloody clothes and torn haversacks, with 
all the other debris of war's havoc, were the price we paid for 
these two old cannon. 



64 Sherman's march through the south. 

A battle-field, when the carnage of the day is over ; when the 
augrjr passions of men have subsided ; when the death silence 
follows the din and roar of battle ; when the victors have re- 
turned triumphant to their camps to celebrate their victory, 
regardless of the many comrades they have left behind ; when 
the conquered sullenly fall back to a new position, awaiting to 
renew the struggle, — is a sad sight. It is hard to listen to the 
hushed groans and cries of the dying, and to witness the 
lacerated bodies of your fellow-soldiers strewn around, some 
with broken limbs, torn and mangled bodies, writhing in agony. 
How often has some poor fellow besought me to shoot him, and 
put him out of pain ! It would be a mercy to do so, yet I 
dared not. 

Piled up together in a ditch, near a battery which they sup- 
ported with their lines, I found several rebel dead and wounded. 
I dragged some of the wounded out under the shelter of the 
trees. 

The ghouls of the army were there before me ; they had 
rifled the pockets of the dead and wounded indiscriminately. 

I gave many a poor fellow a reviving drink, amidst silent 
prayers. 

In one place I found a mere boy of about fifteen. His leg 
was shattered with a piece of shell. I placed his knapsack 
under his head. Poor child ! what stories he told me of his 
mother, away down in Carolina ; and his little sisters, how 
glad they would be, now that he was wounded, to see him home. 

They never saw him home, for he went to the home where 
the weary are at rest. 

I came up to the corpse of a rebel soldier, over whom a huge 
Kentuckian federal soldier was weeping. 

"My man," I exclaimed, "why do you weep over him? 
Look at your comrades around you." 

"True, sir," he replied, wiping his eyes; and pointing to a 
federal soldier near, he said, " There is my brother ; this man 
shot him : I killed him in return. He was my bosom friend. 
I loved him as a father loves his child." 

Next morning, as we were removing our wounded to hos- 



FEDERAL AND REBEL LOSSES. 65 

pital, I saw a group collected. I rode up, aud found that they 
were some raw troops jeering and insulting rebel wounded. 
They belonged to Hovey's Indiana division. Veteran troops 
will never do this, but share their last drink and bite with 
them. I rated them pretty roundly, and ordered the cowardly 
sneaks to their regiments. After another battle or two, these 
very boys would feel indignant at such conduct. 

I then helped the doctor to put them in ambulances. The 
poor fellows' gratitude well repaid me. One man's brain was 
protruding through his wound. We left him, thinking he could 
not live long. I went there the following evening, and found 
him still living. 

Our loss in the battle of Resaca was pretty heavy. We had 
four generals wounded — Kilpatrick and Willech badly, Man- 
son seriously, and Hooker slightly. 

Our total killed were about five hundred ; some two thousand 
wounded, and about five hundred missing. 

I have no means of fully ascertaining the rebel loss ; but it 
must be as large as ours. For the most part they fought under 
cover. 

Our captures were eight pieces of cannon, a large stock of 
small arms and commissary stores, besides the cheering effect 
the victory had on our troops, and the demoralizing influence 
on Johnston's. Resaca was, in truth, the first great battle of the 
campaign. Here the enemy, aided by every advantage of 
ground and position, made a stand. A fair but desperate 
conflict ensued, and the enemy were whipped. From that day 
our army felt they were to be victorious ; Johnston's, that they 
were to be defeated. 
6* 



66 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE PURSUIT. -OUR ARMY CROSS THE RIVER ON PONTOONS 
AND BRIDGES. — CAPTURE OF A REBEL COURIER. — A GOOD 
TRICK OF GENERAL THOMAS.- SPLENDID ACHIEVEMENT OF 
GENERAL SWEENY. — STORMING THE HEIGHTS AT SNAKE 
CREEK. — DEEDS OF INDIVIDUAL VALOR. — SHERMAN AND THE 
LONE WIDOW. — A COUP D'CEIL FROM BUENA VISTA. — DESCRIP- 
TION OF THE COUNTRY. — TROUBLES OF THE CORRESPOND- 
ENTS.— PERSONAL ANECDOTES OF SHERMAN. 

General Johnston had pontooned the river just below the 
bend. He could not cross his trains by the regular road bridge, 
as the noise would reveal the movement. The troops crossed 
at several ferries, the major portion over a foot bridge laid 
beside the railroad bridge. 

The rebels had left behind them four guns, in addition to 
those captured the previous day, immense stores of ammunition, 
several thousand stands of small arms, a large amount of com- 
missary stores, and all their dead and wounded. They de- 
stroyed the railroad bridge, but had not time to demolish the 
road bridge near it. 

The pursuit commenced early next morning. McPherson 
had crossed over at Lay's Ferry, and the foot bridge left by the 
rebels. General Thomas had to lay down some additional 
bridges, and followed up right in the rear of the retreating 
army. 

General Schofield had to make a wide detour to the left, 
and crossed the Counasauga and Coosawattee, which form the 
Oostanaula at Fite's and Field's Ferries. Our cavalry were 
close upon the rear of the rebels, .but were not in sufficient 
force to bring them to a stand. 

The troops effected the crossing of the rivers in very good time. 



PURSUIT OP THE REBELS. . 67 

McPherson had his pontoons already established. The rebels, 
in their haste, had left the road bridge and a foot bridge stand- 
ing. Schofield, however, had to ford or pontoon the two rivers. 
All this was done with such despatch that the whole army was 
in pursuit by noon the following day. It soon became one con- 
tinual skirmish between the rear guard of Johnston's army and 
our advance. His intention evidently was to cross the Etowah, 
fall back to the strong range of the Alletoona Mountains, and 
there, with his lines extending from the railroad to Dallas, give 
us battle. 

Near Adairsville, — which, by the way, is a pretty village 
eighteen miles south of Resaca, — Wood's division, of the 4th 
corps, came upon Hood's and part of Hardee's corps where 
they were intrenched, with the intention of checking our ad- 
vance. They opened a heavy artillery fire upon our lines. 
General Wood formed into line, deployed heavy bodies of skir- 
mishers, and a very brisk little fight ensued, which continued 
all the evening. The enemy retired after nightfall. 

On the 17th Butterfield's division, of the 20th corps, drove 
the enemy from Cassville. Hooker pressed on, driving them 
from Calhoun, which village presented nothing but ruined and 
shattered houses, the inhabitants having fled at our approach — 
some to the woods, others into the rebel lines. These had been 
pretty towns, with their neat, white houses, and trim flower 
gardens, before the scourge of war had swept over them. The 
country around is extremely fertile, and many a Avealthy planter's 
mansion and farmer's homestead formed bonfires for our de- 
stroying army. 

The stubborn fight made by Johnston at Adairsville was for 
the purpose of protecting some wagons and artillery, which he 
wanted to get off by rail. His main army at this time was but 
a few miles ahead. Next morning the 4th corps marched 
through Kingston ; in the afternoon they encountered a slight 
opposition from Cheatham's division and two regiments of 
cavalry. 

Meantime Hooker had moved by River Creek, reconnoi- 
tring south, and striking the railroad between Kingston and 



68 Sherman's march through the south. 

Cassville. Butterfield's division was ahead, and encountered 
the enemy at Cassville, and kept them at bay until Williams's 
and Geary's divisions came to his support, when the whole 
corps formed into line, and drove the enemy from the town, 
after a very hot contest. 

The 20th and 23d corps had a slight skirmish with John- 
ston's flank. The 23d corps occupied the extreme left, harass- 
ing the enemy's flank. The 4th and 20th corps occupied the 
centre. The 14th corps came in on Hooker's right, while 
McPherson operated on our extreme right. Davis's division 
of the 14th corps had already moved on Rome, occupying the 
town with slight opposition. 

At Rome we captured a small steamboat on the Coosa River, 
large quantities of supplies and cotton, and several founderies, 
all of which were destroyed. Rome is a beautiful little city, 
embowered amidst trees, and full of pretty flower gardens. 

Most of the families had fled. All the able-bodied negroes, 
men and women, had been carried off. The inhabitants must 
have left, in hot haste, with the garrison, for provisions and 
furniture were untouched in the houses ; and some of them 
looked as' if the ladies had just gone out to pay an evening 
visit, and meant to be back to tea. 

Our men soon changed the appearance of things, liberally 
helping themselves to anything they wanted, and then destroyed 
the rest, and in some cases the houses with them. 

On our march a courier from General Johnston to his chief 
of cavalry, General Jackson, was captured. The despatch was 
asking information of Sherman's movements on his flank. The 
poor fellow appeared much terrified, made a generous confes- 
sion, and looked upon himself as booked for the other world. 

General Thomas dressed one of his scouts in the officer's 
clothing, and sent him off with the despatch. The brave fellow 
succeeded in his hazardous mission, and returned with valuable 
information. 

Our trains were now following up the army as far as Kings- 
ton and Rome, though Wheeler was threatening our communi- 
cation. On the 24th he made a dash on a train of about sixty 



1 



SPLENDID CONDUCT OF SWEENY's COMMAND. 69 

wagons belonging to Schofield, which was going to (Jassville 
with surplus baggage. He captured the wagons, but had to 
burn them, as our cavalry was pressing him ; but he took away 
most of the teams. His men here acted with great cruelty, for 
we found some of our men with their brains dashed out, and 
we were told that they were butchered after being captured. 
Though not crediting all such reports, I cannot ignore them 
all, for I have met too many savagely butchered myself. 

I believe that none of those acts have ever been committed 
with the cognizance of the superior officers. I give them credit 
for more humanity on both sides. In all civil wars, and par- 
ticularly in one carried on with such bitter rancor as this, there 
must have been many savage acts and brutal murders perpe- 
trated. Our march and battles were characterized by many 
personal exploits of foolhardy daring that cannot be sur- 
passed. 

The crossing of the Oostanaula at those points where the 
enemy remained to dispute our passage was a noble achieve- 
ment. General T. W. Sweeny, commanding the second di- 
vision, 16th corps, had received orders to move to Lay's Ferry, 
a point south of Resaca, and take possession of the opposite 
bank. Johnson's brigade, Walker's division, Hardee's corps 
was fortified on the opposite bank, and opened a galling fire on 
the advancing troops, who had to charge over an open field to 
the shelter of some rail fences, and a regular fire across the 
river ensued. 

Meanwhile pontoon boats were launched in Snake Creek, a 
tributary of the Oostanaula, and six companies of the 66th Illi- 
nois and 81st Ohio were ordered to cross in them. The boats, 
with about three hundred soldiers, pushed down the stream, 
when a regular storm of rebel bullets whistled around them, 
toppling some into the water, more into the boats. On they 
push, blazing away at the enemy in return. The rebel bat- 
teries now open, throwing round shot and shell among them, 
ploughing up the water around, and, in some cases, tearing 
through their crowded masses. 

At length they gained the shore, and with a shout of triumph 



70 Sherman's march through the south. 

and derision the brave fellows rushed up the banks, firing as 
they advanced ; then charging right on the enemy, breaking 
and routing them. Thus did these gallant western men open a 
passage across the river for Dodge's command. 

A private soldier of the 66th Indiana swam the Oostanaula, 
at Lay's Ferry, during the night, passed the pickets at the other 
side, scaled the rebel fort, pulled down a battle flag, reswam 
the river, returning safely to his comrades with the flag as a 
trophy. 

Near Cassville three soldiers belonging to the 23d corps were 
somewhat behind their command, and not being able to get up 
to it at night, bivouacked in a small farm-house aside from the 
road. About the middle of the night they heard a great noise 
outside, and on looking out discovered the yard full of rebel 
cavalry. They were betrayed by the people of the house, all 
of whom they found had left while they were asleep. One of 
the cavalry, thinkiag to nab them quietly, gently opened the 
door, when one of the soldiers ran him through. His com- 
rades fired one volley into the house, the bullets passing 
through the rotten planks that formed its sides. 

The men lay quietly in the most secure positions, and fired 
out, and then immediately shifted to another corner, t^e rebels 
pouring a volley of bullets through the place they had left. 
This game was played for some time, when those outside, find- 
ing that they were paying too dear for it, resolved to burn down 
the house, though the family protested against it. The house 
was set on fire, and the dry timbers began to blaze about them. 
Nothing was now before them but certain death, and they were 
resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible, when an unex- 
p*ected deliverance came. A squad of Stoneman's cavalry, 
passing near, heard the firing, and hastened to the spot. They 
attacked the besieging party in the rear, soon putting them to 
flight, and released their friends. 

Johnston had now succeeded in crossing the Etowah, burn- 
ing the road and railroad bridges near Cartersville. Here 
General Sherman halted his army for a few days to give it time 
to rest, and to bring up some supplies. 



INTERVIEW WITH A POOR WIDOW. 71 

General Thomas's army lay around Cassville, General Sclio- 
field's at Kingston depot and the Etowah Bridge, with General 
McPherson's about Kingston. In this delightful and fertile -sec- 
tion of country, which we found a garden before us, but left a 
w^ilderness behind us, the army now halted to rest, and to pil- 
lage, too. 

It was amusing to observe how the soldiers imposed on the 
innocent people by giving them forged vouchers. General 
Sherman, attended only by a single orderly, rode by a small 
plantation house, where he went in and sat down. The old 
lady was quite communicative, and Sherman entered into con- 
versation with her. 

" Well, have the boys taken much from you? " 

" Almost all I have. Sherman was here ; he is a right nice 
un ; the poor man said he was hungry ; so I got him something 
to eat ; and as he said they were starving, he took a ham and a 
chicken, but he left me something he called a purtection paper," 
and she pulled a dirty, scribbled scroll from her breast, and 
handed it to Sherman. It read, — 

" Sergeant Take-them-all gives general protection to this 
poor, lone widow, with her husband in the army, and to her 
helpless chickens and roosters ; that is, what's left of thQm." 

" And what did the boys say to this? " asked Sherman, who 
could not help smiling at this novel protection. 

"Well, your fellows only laughed at it; it 'pears like they 
have drefful little respect for their, general." 

" I am afraid so, madam. If you give me some paper I'll 
write one they won't laugh at." 

" And are you an officer? " 

"Yes, ma'am." 

" May be you'd have a piece of backer, or a chew ; the sol- 
diers didn't leave me a blast." 

" Don't use them. Here is a cigar, and a pass that won't 
be laughed at ; " and Sherman mounted and rode oiF. 

While the army is resting, we will devote a brief space to the 
general appearance of the country, its soil, climate, and geo- 
graphical position. 



72 SHERMAN S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

Walker County, through which we had just campaigned, is J| 
south 9f Tennessee, and was laid out from Murray County in 
1833. ' 

Its general appearance is hilly, or rather mountainous, inter- 
spersed with rich valleys of great fertility, covered with a 
dark, mulatto soil. It has several very prominent mountains, 
generally running from north to north-west, the principal 
of which arc Taylor's Ridge, — commonly called Rocky Face 
Ridge, — Lookout Mountain, overhanging Chattanooga, John's 
Mountain, and White Oak Mountains. 

These are separated by some fine valleys, among others 
Chickamauga, the scene of Rosecrans's memorable fight ; Ar- 
mucha Valley, where Sherman's army sat down before Johns- 
ton's intrenched position, along Rocky Face and Buzzard Roost ; 
and Dogwood Valley, where Schofield advanced, threatening 
Johnston's flank. 

It has no towns of importance, Ringgold, Rossville, and Vil- 
lauow being the leading ones. All these are small places, but 
remarkably neat and picturesque. 

They have become rather historical from the stirring scenes 
of which they have been the theatre. 

This county has been called Cherokee Georgia ; and some of 
the tumuli and remains of the Cherokee settlement are still 
extant. This county is remarkable for its many caves, the 
most remarkable of which is Wilson's Cave, which is second 
only to the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. 

Its great mineral springs are its most remarkable feature, 
and possessed of strong medicinal qualities. They are situated 
at the foot of Taylor's Ridge, and are about fifty in number, all 
located within a space of less than half a mile. 

Twelve of these, and the chief ones, are grouped together in 
less than a quarter acre. These springs held a high reputation 
among the Indians ; and the beautiful valley has been justly 
called the "Vale of Springs." 

The waters are strongly mineral, combining chalybeate, red, 
white, and black sulphur, iron, magnesia, and salts, in various 
combinations. 

The scenery immediately around the springs is rather of the 



BUENA VISTA. 73 

sylvan order ; but an hour's walk brings you to the mountain, 
whence you have a view of as picturesque, lovely, and romantic 
a region as the eye could rest upon. The wood has been 
cleared from the top of Taylor's Ridge, from which point there 
is a magnificent stretch of mountain and valley scenery. This 
is called Buena Vista, and appropriately, for a good view it is. 

Here, wearied and fatigued, I slept that summer night of the 
7th of May, after helping to drag, up that section of artillery 
to Buena Vista. Here, next morning, I took a bird's-eye view 
of the camps of the contending hosts, their expiring watch-fires, 
and their marshalled troops, awaiting the battle. Here, on this 
point, crowded hundreds of Harker's and Newton's men who 
were not engaged, anxiously watching the battle raging along 
the ridge and beneath. Hoav earnestly they watched our 
advance down Dogwood Valley, as we were steadily driving 
back the enemy's skirmishers and sharpshooters. And when 
we dashed into that thick wood beneath, and our huzzas, and 
the ringing sound of our rifles, told that we were still forcing 
back the enemy, what a shout went up from Buena Vista ! 
When we emerged from the wood with flying colors, the enemy 
driven back on their main lines, that shout rang over us, louder 
even than the din of battle. The men on the summit flung up 
th^ir caps, and they came down upon us like a shower. 

Never before had there been such a party on Buena Vista — 
never before had there been such a bloody drama played there, 
and, I trust, never will be again. 

Chattooga County, in which Sherman's army was now rest- 
ing, is next to Walker. 

It is rather a beautiful country, even richer in soil than 
Walker County, and full of hills and valleys, equally fertile and 
picturesque. It derives its name from its principal river, 
Chattooga. 

It has some splendid plantations, with their wealthy home- 
steads, and numerous negro surroundings. Summerville is the 
capital of the county ; but we left this on our right flank. 
Adairsville and Kingston are small but interesting villages. 
We found them pretty well deserted. 
7 



74 Sherman's march through the south. 

' At Cassville, in Cass County, a pleasant spot, the rebels made 
a decided stand ; and consequently it suffered considerably. 

Floyd County now lay before us. Johnston had placed the 
Etowah between Sherman and himself. The Taylor Eidge of 
mountains continue in a south-west direction through Floyd, 
dividing the waters of the Chattooga -from the tributaries of the 
Oostanaula. 

The Altoona range of hills cross these in a westerly direc- 
tion. This being a strong natural position, protected by water 
and mountain and hill range, Sherman justly conjectured that 
Johnston would avail himself of it. 

Floyd County differs little fi'om the others either in soil or 
scenery. 

Its chief rivers are the Oostanaula and Etowah, which, unit- 
ing at Rome, form the Coosa. From Rome, the Coosa flows 
through a rich valley, with beautiful wooded hills and slopes 
on both sides. 

Rome itself is a handsome little town, situated upon an eleva- 
tion overlooking the river. It did not suffer much from the 
troops, as we only paid it a passing visit. It is about eighteen 
miles from Kingston, and is destined to become a flourishing 
business place. It also has several mineral springs, the most 
important of which is Cove Spring, on Little Cedar Creek. 
These gush out from a mountain, forming a pretty considerable 
creek. 

Having so far given a topographical description of the country 
through which we had operated, I will continue to describe its 
various features as I chronicle the advance and subsequent 
achievements of the army, which I left enjoying itself along the 
banks of the Etowah. 

Sherman had his headquarters at Kingston. Here he issued 
the following order, which rendered the position of newspaper 
correspondents in the army very uncomfortable. 

Kingston, Ga., May 20, 1864. 
.... What the commanding general does discourage is 
the existence of that class of men who will not take a musket 



THE REPORTER. 75 

and fight, but who follow an army to pick up news for sale, 
speculating on a species of information which is dangerous to 
the army and to our cause, and who are more used to bolster 
idle and worthless officers than to notice the hard-working and 
meritorious, whose modesty is generally equal to their courage, 
and who scorn to seek the flattery of the press. 

W. T. Sherman, 3fajor General. 

This was by no means complimentary to the press or its 
representatives, and made the position of correspondents very 
unpleasant. Every stuck-up jackanapes of an officer, with 
more assurance than brains, who had lately left the counter 
or workshop, thought he was privileged to insult gentlemen, 
and men of learning. However, I must say that no true gen- 
tleman in the service ever attempted to do so. I have reason 
to know that even Sherman's own staff, with the exception of 
one or two, censured this order. His brother-in-law Gen- 
eral Ewing, Surgeon General Moor, Major General Barry, and 
other gentlemen of his staff, disapproved of it. 

As for his adjutant general. Major Dayton, he could not 
afford to be courteous to a representative of a newspaper. 

A respectable member of the associated press once called on 
him for permission to telegraph just a few lines to relieve the 
anxiety of the country after an important movement. 

His reply was, — 

"No, sir. What the h — 1 do we care about the country? 
You should go to "Washington for news. This is no place to 
come looking for it ? " 

Had Sherman issued an order prohibiting correspondents 
from accompanying the army, I would respect his strength of 
character ; but he knew too well that the war was a matter 
of history and public interest ; that the country was liberally 
pouring forth its treasures and its blood to suppress treason, and 
that it would aot allow the press to be gagged, and thus shut 
them off from the most reliable and expeditious source of infor- 
mation relative to the fate of their friends, and the success of 
their cause in battle. 



76 Sherman's march through the south. 

Thus exposed to petty annoyance fyom some worthless fops 
" cloth ej in a little brief authority," several correspondents left 
the army. 

This order was unworthy of Sherman. Intelligent corre- 
spondents had too much respect for themselves and their papers 
to write anything derogatory to the interest of the army, and if 
they did, he had his redress in his own hands. 

Sherman's abrupt manner of dealing with parties whose 
business was distasteful to him gave rise to a good many 
amusing stories about him. 

On one occasion a deputation from some commission waited 
on him for transportation to bring up supplies, and particularly 
tracts and Bibles to the soldiers. 

" Tracts and Bibles, gentlemen," he replied, " are very good 
in their way, but rations and ammunition are much better. 
Now, I can't encroach on them." 

He was right, for most of these agents were mere hangers-on, 
living on the country, and giving the supplies to officers and 
quartermasters to propitiate them, and not to the soldiers, for 
whom they were intended. 

On another occasion Sherman was dining with Howard. A 
sanctimonious parson present thought the occasion demanded 
an extra strong grace. With eyes and hands raised piously 
towards heaven, he ,was in the midst of it, when Sherman, who 
sat at the other end of the table unconscious of the chaplain, was 
bitterly denouncing some officer, and wound up by bringing his 
hand slap on the table, and exclaiming, — 

" Ilang the man ! Will he ever stop ? " 

The chaplain, thinking the expression to apply to himself, let 
fall his hands, and became almost petrified. There was a sup- 
pressed titter around the table, and the chaplain did not recover 
his composure for the evening. 

Sherman was at times convivial, and would tell, with the 
richest humor, racy stories connected with himself, and the 
many strange characters he had come across. 

" I tell you," he said one evening to a party of us at dinner, 
'• I have met more men afflicted with cotton on the brain than 



THE JEW AND HIS COTTON. 77 

any other disease. Some time since a chaplain wrote to me for 
permission to go south, because, as he had numerous acquaint- 
ances there, he coukl buy plenty of cotton if he only had per- 
mission to bring it through the lines. I didn't mind tliis. 
Some time afterwards, I got another letter from the same party, 
renewing the request, but making an offer to give me half the 
profits. I at once ordered him beyond the lines ; and only that 
I believed he was not quite sane, I would have dealt Jiarder with 
him. 

*'At Memphis," he continued, "I was completely pestered 
about cotton. A little Jew had somehow managed to get into 
the rebel lines, and buy cotton from private parties, who agreed 
to send it to some neutral point outside their lines. Our cavalry 
met them, and brought in the cotton, the parties having no 
authority for dealing in it. The Jew came to me in a great 
fright. 

'' 'Ah, monseer jenral, de cavalry took mine cotton.* 

" ' What right had you to go beyond our lines to buy cotton ? ' 

" ' Jenral, I knew de cotton vas dere ; and I knew de good 
government vants it ; so I said I'd buy the cotton, and bring it 
in to you.' 

" ' You paid for it, then ? ' 

" ' Yes ; tree tousand dollas down in de gold.' 

" ' That is, you gave three thousand dollars to the rebels to 
wse against us.' 

" ' No, jenral ; it vas for de cotton.' 

" ' Well, it's all the same ; it went into their hands ; and now, 
as you were so good to them, I order you to pay the same 
amount to our government, or else I will swing you out of a 
tree.' 

" ' And can't I keep de cotton? ' 

" ' Not a pound of it. It's confiscated.' 

" We had no more Jews speculating in cotton after that." 
7* 



78 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A CARNIVAL IN THE CAMPS.— RACING AND HUNTING PARTIES.— 
STRAGGLERS AND MARAUDERS. — EXCESSES OF OUR TROOPS. 
— 3IURDER* OF REBEL OFFICERS. — CAPRICIOUSNESS OF THE 
SOUTHERN LADIES.— MRS. MAJOR DASH AND MRS. CAPTAIN 
SMART. — CONDITION OF THE POOR WHITES. — INCIDENTS AND 
ANECDOTES. — WHITES AND BLACKS. 

The section of countiy occupied by our encamped army 
extended some twenty miles, embracing Rome, Kingston, Cass- 
ville, and several other minor places. We had established 
strong posts at Ringgold, Tunnel Ilill, and Dalton ; also con- 
necting posts to guard our lines of communication. 

The country around was very fine, the weather favorable, 
and the officers and men seemed inclined to employ their days 
of rest with amusement and recreation. 

Races were got up, hunting parties formed ; also foraging 
and visiting parties. 

Generals and officers, in their gayest uniforms, rode from 
camp to camp, making it a pleasing and exciting scene. 

The most of the plantation houses were abandoned by their 
owners, who were either hiding in the woods until we should 
pass, or had gone on with the rebel army. Old men and women, 
with decrepit negroes, and squalling picaninnies, were the only 
persons at home. 

The lying press of the south, and all other sources from 
which they drew information, had so poisoned their minds with 
stories of our savage and cannibal acts that they trembled at 
our approach, and looked upon their total destruction as certain. 
Unfortunately the wanton acts of some of our troops gave color 
to this. In all large armies there is a class of cowardly ruf- 
fians who are sure to slink from battle, and whose only object is 
plunder. 



LIVING ON THE COUNTRY. 79 

Owing to the wooded nature of the country, and the vast ex- 
tent of our lines, these fellows had too many opportunities of 
gratifying their thieving propensities. 

General Sherman had issued an order that the army, as far 
as practicable, should live on the country. 

The soldiers took this as a license for each man to rob and 
pillage as much as he could ; and in truth too many of them 
seemed well inclined to obey this special order. 

For several days a most disgraceful scene of rifling houses, 
breaking up furniture, ripping up bedticks, and, after making a 
general mess of things, then firing the houses, ensued. 

This was somewhat modified by regular parties being de- 
tailed, under command of officers, to forage. Even these often 
committed the most wanton excesses. I was one evenino; riding 
out towards our picket lines, and passing near a house, shel 
tered in the trees, I heard cries and screams, as if from women 
in distress. I drew my revolver, and rode into the yard ; and 
what a sight met my view ! The yard was covered with the 
debris of furniture, beds, and bedding ; dead poultry and pigs 
lay around, while soldiers were making desperate charges on 
others that had not yet fallen. All the beehives were rifled, and 
the infuriated bees were flying about like so many little demons. 
I even saw a man wearing the shoulder-straps of a captain, 
with his hands full of things, rush through a back door at my 
approach. To add to the savage scene children were rushing 
about,, screaming for their lives ; and on going into the house I 
found four miserable women huddled together in trembling fear. 
It took some time before I could convince them that they were 
safe. They were in such a frenzied state, that I remained some 
time, and put a guard on the house. 

Such scenes were of too frequent occurrence ; and it often 
happened that the rebel cavalry came upon these pilfering strag- 
glers while they were rifling some houses, and of course they 
had no mercy to expect. 

On the left of our lines, just outside our picket station, was a 
very tempting plantation house ; still, the men felt a little deli- 
cacy in visiting it, as it was pretty close on the rebel lines. 



80 Sherman's march through the south. 

At length a party of volunteers resolved to try the experi- 
ment. So they started off in the evening, being favored by the 
darkness, first having contrived to get the countersign, so that 
they could return. 

It happened that the old planter, a Mr. Hordel, had a son, 
an officer in Wheeler's cavalry. The young man, being sta- 
tioned near, availed himself of the opportunity to visit his family. 

He, together with two other officers, were in the house when 
our volunteer party surrounded it. 

They were quietly, and, as they thought, securely, sitting 
around the parlor fire, telling of their hairbreadth escapes and 
adventures. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hordel and their three blooming daughters 
were the willing auditors. 

There must be something strikingly interesting in the adven- 
tures of young Hordel's brother officers, who, by the by, were 
two fine-looking fellows ; for two of the young ladies seemed 
wonderfully pleased at them, and with greedy ears devoured 
their discourse, and gave them for their pains a world of sighs. 

A scout crept softly from the party abroad to the window, 
and looked through the partially open shutters. He soon re- 
ported progress. 

What to do now was the question. The front door was 
locked. The servants were in the back yard, and would give 
the alarm, should they try to get in that way ; and the officers 
had their revolvers beside them on the table. What was to be 
done? 

It was at once agreed to surprise them from the rear, but 
to leave three men at the window to fire on the officers if 
necessary. Two men slipped around, got into the kitchen, but 
were stoutly encountered by two of the rebel officers' orderlies. 

The young officers, hearing the noise, jumped up, and soon a 
shot from the hall told them that they were surprised. 

They grasped their revolvers, and had drawn their swords, 
when the men at the window fired. One of the officers fell 
dead, while old Mr. Hordel, who had just at the moment 
jumped up, received the bullet aimed at his son. The third 
bullet took effect on one of the young ladies. 



CONDUCT OF SECESH LADIES. 81 

The men outside joined their comrades, and fired through the 
windows. Hordel and his living friend rushed into the hall, 
and joined their orderlies, resolved to sell their lives dearly. 

A fierce fight ensued ; and as the men outside had set the 
house on fire, there is no knowing how it would end had not 
the third orderly, who was outside at the time, made his escape 
back to a rebel cavalry post, and hurried them up. 

They surrounded the party, and killed every man of them 
except one, who made his escape into our lines, with a most 
exaggerated report of how they were surrounded, captured, and 
then butchered. I learned these true particulars from a negro 
who was in the house at the time. 

As a general thing throughout the south, we experienced 
the most inveterate hate on the part of the ladies. They were 
bitter against us, and full of the most absurd prejudices. They 
hated the Yankees ; but still, in many cases, they softened down 
wonderfully ; and when we remained any little time, they 
actually became warm converts to the Union. 

When first we entered a town they scarcely showed their 
pretty faces at all ; or, if they did, they wore such a scornful 
expression that we could well dispense with them. 

They tried all those petty modes of annoyance by which 
ladies can so well show their dislike. You were sure to hear 
rebel airs floating from Secesh pianos and fair Secesh vocalists. 

After a little time they began to mix more freely. They 
vowed that Captain Smart and Major Dash were ducks of young 
men. Certainly they could not be Yanks, they were so noble- 
looking, generous, and polite ! Really, though they did not 
like them, they were too agreeable and too much like gentlemen 
to be treated rudely. Then they sang so well, and danced so 
divinely, they should like to meet them. No ; they positively 
could not be mere vulgar " Yanks." 

Some of the ladies brightened into sunshine and smiles. 
•' The bonny blue flag" gave way to "The star-spangled ban- 
ner ; " and the farce ended by the prettiest, but most violent of 
the Secesh ladies, becoming Mrs. Major Dash and Mrs. Captain 
Smart. 



82 Sherman's march through the south. 

After all, we can hardly wonder that the southern ladies 
should have exhibited so bitter a spirit. Raised up as they 
were in luxurious indolence, with slaves to anticipate their every 
whim, with pampered tastes, and d strong impression ingrafted 
upon them in childhood that labor of all kinds was dishonorable, 
the lesson of poverty came home to them with fearful force. 

Shut out from all communication with the outer world, they 
were now deprived of all the luxuries of life, and could barely 
command its mere necessaries. The price of tea — one hundred 
and twenty dollars per pound in Confederate money — precluded 
the very thoughts of it. Coffee was proportionally scarce and 
dear. Of sugar they could always raise a rough supply from 
the cane and sorghum. 

Their horses were taken for the use of the army, their 
carriages were rotting in the coach-houses, and their dresses 
were unfit to appear in public. 

They had worn out their fine silks and rich dresses ; and such 
articles now, if they could be got at all, could be only obtained 
at fabulous prices. So they had to clothe their dainty figures 
in linsey-woolsey. And because all the able hands, black and 
white, were gone to the war, either to fight or work in the 
intrenchments, they had either to labor or to starve. 

Their colored servants became sulky and unmanageable, and 
ardently longed for the approach of the Yankees, whom they 
looked upon as their friends and deliverers. 

Their mistresses, now powerless to coerce them, had to cajole 
and coax them ; while the servants, conscious of their in- 
creasing power, gave them as little work, and caused them as 
much annoyance, as possible. 

In their blindness and ignorance they set the Yankees 
down as the cause of all this ; as the murderers of their broth- 
ers and husbands, and the destroyers of their peace and happi- 
ness. They could not separate cause from effect. Their only 
argument, as I heard it expressed, was, " Why don't the Yan- 
kees let us alone? Why do they endeavor to oppress and 
conquer us ? " 

There was another class in the south, who comprised the bone 



CONDITION OF THE POOR WHITES. 83 

and sinew of the war, and who, though livmg in the basest 
degradation, were not sensible of it. I mean the poorer classes, 
or, as they are more commonly called, " the poor white trash." 

These were scattered over the large plantations, tolerated 
to squat down and till a few acres in some remote corners, in 
consideration of the political influence their votes gave their 
masters. They^ were too ignorant to know that they were 
greater slaves than the bondmen whom their masters daily sold. 

They learned their politics from their fire-eating masters ; 
from ignorant county newspapers, which, of course, chimed 
with the planters, who supported them ; and from preachers, 
who doled out whole volumes of sedition, instead of preaching 
the gospel, and whose only orthodox creed was blind submis- 
sion to the will of the slave owners. 

In such a school, and under such circumstances, can we 
wonder at the condition of the non-slaveholding whites ? They 
tilled their arid plot, raised a little corn and rye, and, with a 
few half-starved hogs, which prowled through the woods, they 
managed to support their miserable lives and half-naked and 
wholly uneducated children. 

As a relief they frequent the dram shanty, where they dis- 
cuss bad politics and drink worse whiskey. 

The planters have given the rudiments of trades to their 
slaves, and they do their work. They will not, therefore, em- 
ploy a white man. If they must employ such, it is sure to be 
some northern man that has settled among them. The very 
negro servants look down on them with contempt, for they feel 
that they are much more useful and have more influence. 

I had a good instance of the relative values of the black and 
white "races in the south from a colored servant of General 
John Logan. 

Dick was an excellent servant, and was formerly a slave in 
.some part of Northern Georgia. Like thousands more of his 
class, Dick thought the day of jubilee had come with the Yan- 
kees, and turned over to them. 

" Dick," said I to him, " was your master kind to you?" 

" O, bery much, massa ; massa bery kind." 



84 Sherman's march through the south. 

" Did he give you plenty to eat and wear? " 

" Bery mucli, massa ; plenty eberyting." 

" Never whipped you ? " 

" Neber whipped dis nigger." 

" Then why did you leave him?" 

Dick stopped for a moment ; then drew up his burly figure to 
its full height, and exclaimed, " Massa, I had a wife and two 
children. I have seen oder nigger's wives and children torn 
from their homes and sold. Why not mine ? Massa, I wanted 
to be free ; dis nigger wanted to own hisself." 

Dick's logic was sound. Slavery is a bitter draught ; and 
though, in my opinion, the negro was physically better cared for 
as a slave than he can be during that transition state through 
which he is now passing, still, I thank Heaven that slavery is 
abolished. It was a curse to the south, and a degradation to 
the north. 

But to Dick's story. 

" I believe, Dick," I said, " a black man was of more value 
in the south than a white man." 

" Yah, yah ! " exclaimed Dick. " White man no 'count dere ; 
dis nigger worth fifteen hunder dollars, white man nothing." 

" Why, then, Dick, it was better to be a black man than a 
poor white one." 

" Lor bress ou, massa ; poor white no value. Massa was 
sinking a well. It was down bery deep, and Pompey working 
hard at it, when neighbor Miller comes along, and says, ' Am 
surprised you leave Pompey down dere ; dat will sure cave in. 
Hire a poor white man.' Massa sent me for one, and put him 
in dat ere well in place of Pompey ; when, sartin enuff, de well 
caved over him ; and Massa Miller says to massa, ' Now see, I 
am the lucky man to you ; I saved you twelve hunder dollars ; ' 
and dey went in and had a drink, and left poor white man dere." 

This was Dick's story, and I believe it was a true one, for I 
have seen too many instances of the selfish cruelty of planters 
to their poor white neighbors. 

No wonder that such men, so poor and wretched, should wish 
for some change. They knew that any alteration in their cir- 



THE LAND MONOPOLY. 85 

cumstances could not be for the worse, and all parties, planters, 
parson, and politicians, told them that if the soutli attained its 
independence, their condition would be greatly improved ; and 
they rushed into a war to cut their own throats. I once asked 
a planter, " Why don't you try to educate the poor of the south, 
and better their condition ? " 

" It is hopeless, sir ; they are an indolent, good-for-nothing 
race." 

The answer reminded me of a similar one which I once got 
from an Irish agent, who was clearing off the poor tenants by 
wholesale. "Why don't you give these people a lease, and en- 
courage them to remain at home ? " 

" Why, sir, if we gave them leases they would become too 
independent to vote for the landlord ; the only way is to keep 
them down, sir ; keep them down ! " 

I pondered on his words, and thought therein lies the secret 
of Ireland's grievances. 

Another of the great evils of the south was the land monop- 
oly. A man had no status who did not own several slaves and 
several hundred acres, no matter though the former were old 
and feeble, and the latter covered with wood and underbrush. 
They were the true criterion of the social standing of the own- 
er. I met a lady in Kingston who complained bitterly of her 
destitute condition. Her husband was a doctor in the rebel 
army, and the owner of some ten thousand acres of land and 
some twenty slaves. He had tilled as much of that vast tract 
as his few slaves could manage, leaving the rest of it a wilder- 
ness. He had, perhaps, two hundred acres tilled out of the 
whole ; yet he would not dispose of any of it, except to a few 
poor white squatters, who were eking out a miserable existence. 
His dignity and prestige would suffer if he parted with it ; so, 
like the dog in the manger, he lay in his own way, and in the 
way of others. It was rather amusing to hear his little wife, 
who was now forced to bustle about and help herself, deplore 
her fallen state ; and of course the Yankees were held responsi- 
ble for her condition. 

*' My husband had twenty thousand acres of land, and slaves 
8 



86 Sherman's march through the south. 

at his beck ; and look at me now, sir, Avithout a serv/int !" she 
exclaimed. 

" It's hard, madam, but you have brought it on yourselves. 
"We did not want to come down here, had you not forced the 
issue upon us." 

" No, sir ; why don't you let us alone ? "We'll die before we'll 
be Yankee servants. You have taken all our slaves, and now 
want to make slaves of ourselves." 

" Such is not the case ; we are fighting for the maintenance 
of the Union ; we have not taken one of them ; all that can are 
foUovring us. We cannot nor will not prevent them." 

" They are all gone, the ungrateful wretches, except the chil- 
dren and a few old ones, and two the master took along with 
him, — I am sorry that he did not take the whole batch, — and 
we so kind to them." 

" Why, then, did they leave you, madam? " 

" I am sure I don't know." 

" They wanted to be free, madam." 

" I am sure they were free enough. We never sold but two 
of them, and we had reared them up idly, and I am sure we 
had a right to get something out of them. One of them thought 
to get married to my waiting maid, Chloe, and as we did not 
want that, we sold them." 

" Are the colored people affectionate to each other? " 

" Very much so, indeed. It is strange how they take to one 
another, and fret when any of them are sold away." 

" Just so, madam. What would you say if you were sold 
away from your husband and children — what would you say if 
you were separated from the man you love ? '* 

f Who dare do it?" said the little woman, defiantly. 

" And yet you do it to them ; do you believe they are human 
beings with divine souls, like you ? " 

" Don't exactly know ; guess they may." 

" And your Bible tells you, ' Do unto others as you would 
they should do unto you ; ' they have deep affections, as well as 
you, and are you justified in disregarding all these fine feelings ? " 

" O, that's different ; they are black folks, poor ignorant 



TALK WITH A SOUTHERN LADY. 87 

creatures. It's true they take it to heart very much, but then 
they get over it." 

" Just like you, madam ; if you lost your child or husband, 
you would feel very much : but as people must live after all, 
you'd get over it." 

" But you don't compare the poor ignorant things to us? " 

" Certainly nof, madam. In some respects, perhaps in hu- 
man feeling and sympathies, they are your superiors ; and if they 
are ignorant, who made them so ? You exclude them from all edu- 
cation and chance of refinement, and then call them ignorant." 

" We had better make gods of them, as you do ; live with 
them, eat with them, and sleep with them." 

" There you are wrong. "We want to give them a fair chance 
to live, to own themselves and the fruits of their labor ; but we 
do not make them socially our equals ; it is you who do so." 

" We, sir ; no, sir ! We are above that ; we tolerate them." 

" Indeed, madam ; look through the window here ; " and I 
pointed out a group of children at play ; some of the true Ethi- 
opian jet ; some looking as though they had been steeped in a 
hogshead of tobacco juice ; more a rich mahogany color ; with 
others so white that one could mistake them for the doctor's 
children, only for their short, crispy hair. Who knows whether 
they were or not? " What do you think of them, madam? Is 
there not equality between white and black ? And these are the 
children you sell for slaves ; your own flesh and blood. No 
wonder a judgment should come on you ! '* 

The little lady could not see it in this light ; and though the 
wife of a doctor, with twenty thousand acres of land, she 
smoked her pipe, and freely used her chopsticks and snuff, telling 
us that " 'backer and snuff were tarnation scarce." 

The besotted habit of indulging in tobacco and snuff, so pe- 
culiar to the lower and middle classes of the south, is equally 
filthy and demoralizing. It is repugnant to a northern man's 
sense of propriety and decency to see a pretty young girl swab- 
bing her teeth with dirty snuff, and then asking you for 
" some 'backer." 

I once stopped at a plantation house to rest. I was received 



88 

by a young girl, as perfect a specimen of female beauty as one 
could wisli to see. She had hair like the raven, eyes like the 
gazelle, and a bust and frame that might enrapture a Canova. 
I took oiF my hat, and bowed in homage to so lovely a creature. 
She eyed me for some time, assumed a most negligent attitude, 
and then asked me, " I say, stranger, haven't you got any 'back- 
er you'd let a lady have ? " 

" I don't use it," I said, in surprise. 

" O h — 1 you don't, old chap ! then you might have a cigar 
to make snuff. I hadn't a swab in a week : curse this d — d war." 

My admiration for her beauty soon gave way to a sense o.f 
disgust, and a deep hatred for a state of society which could 
convert a temple so divinely fair into a receptacle for tobacco 
juice, snuff, and filthy language. 

Despite these nasty habits, you will find among the poorest a 
good deal of homely honesty and hospitality. They will will- 
ingly share their last corn-cake with you. 

On account of the great extent of most of the plantations, 
houses are far apart ; school-houses few and far between ; and 
therefore the poorer class are extremely ignorant ; their cloth- 
ing, during the war, at least, was of the poorest and meanest 
description ; with the women, consisting of a cotton gown, lin- 
sey petticoats, and no head covering. The men wear linsey 
trousers, stuffed into dirty, heavy boots, a hunting shirt of as 
many colors as Joseph's garment, all begrimed with filth, and 
surmounted by a slouched hat or skin cap. Their houses are 
generally log huts, badly put together, with sufficient interstices 
to admit the rain, and let out the smoke, which too often escapes 
from cavernous fire-places at the end. They generally consist 
of but one room, with a rough floor of hewn logs. The fur- 
niture and contents of the hovel are composed of some not over 
clean culinary utensils, such as a broken pan, a few filthy tins, a 
dilapidated looking pot, two beds of corn shucks in a corner ; a 
dozen squalid children of all sizes and colors ; a couple of half- 
starved hounds, which show their bloodthirsty propensities by 
hungry, wistful looks at you. A troop of strange skeletons 
called hogs, or shotes, besiege the door with their clamorous 



LOWER-CLASS LIFE. 89 

cries. The old ones, apparently sensible of the folly of expect- 
ing anything from creatures so wretched as their owners, have 
betaken themselve»s to the woods in pursuit of roots and berries. 
The owners disdain to work. It is laborious and disreputable. 
Hunting and fishing are much pleasanter. By fawning and 
sycophancy, they become the henchmen of young massa, acquire 
drunken, dissipated habits, and -live, swaggering and bullying 
about, a burden to themselves and a curse to society. These 
are the general characteristics of that class called the " poor 
white trash " whom I have met all through Tennessee, Georgia, 
and the Carolinas, particularly in the latter states. I do not 
include in this category the laboring poor whites. The men 
who work for their living, though illiterate and poor, when con- 
trasted with the laboring classes of the north, compare favora- 
bly with the laboring classes of other countries. They are a 
hard-working, plodding people, either working as farm hands on 
the plantation, or cultivating their own little farms» remote from 
the bustle of the world and the refinements of civilization, 
raising the necessaries, and some of the luxuries, of life, enough, 
at least, to support them. They know little of what is going on 
outside of their own sphere, and must ask *' the master " " Who 
is president?" or, if there is a new one wanted, " Who will 
we vote for ? " I expect many of them will keep voting for 
Jeff Davis for years to come. Some northern philanthropists 
are for extending the franchise to the emancipated negroes. If 
they do so, be assured they are only throwing so many votes 
into the hands of the planter, to enable him to reestablish the 
power of the land-ocracy, and restore the political status of the 
south. Many colored folks, no doubt, understand the impor- 
tance of the franchise ; but with four fifths of them it will be as 
it was with the old nigger, who, when asked, would he not take 
an oath to support the Constitution, replied, scratching his woolly 
pate, " By de gor, massa, me hab no dejection to support her ; 
times drefful hard, massa ; hab 'nuff to do to support the ole 
'oman and de children, I s'pect." 
8* 



90 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER IX. 

SCENES IN CAMP.- STORIES BY THE FIRESIDE. -HOW AN ILLI- 
NOIS MAN SOLD A HORSE. — THE DOUBLE-ENDER GUN. — MIS- 
ERY OF THE PEOPLE. — THE HIDING-PLACE IN THE THICKET, 
AND THE DEAD GIRL. 

Many of my readers have not seeu a vast army encamped. 
What a sight it presents ! Here are some showy headquarters, 
with their numerous surroundings of white tents. Look into 
these and you will find that officers do not fare so badly even in 
the field. Neat beds are contrived : some are cots ; others 
lithe saplings or frames covered with a cotton tick, and plenty of 
covering, probably contributed by some plantation house. On 
one side is a table laden with books, a box of cigars, and most 
likely a bottle of " commissary." These, with a looking glass 
and the officers' equipments, compose the furniture of the tent. 
Four flies form a mess tent ; and as the general and staff are 
going to dine, we will just see what kind of fare they have. 
It consists of stewed beef, hashed potatoes, and a couple of 
chickens, which the Georgian housekeepers were kind enough 
to rear for them, and most likely a few bottles of old rye, which 
the planters were kind enough to leave in their cellars for our 
especial benefit — all these flanked by a respectable force of 
negro waiters. 

Officers and orderlies are always lounging or riding about 
headquarters, which gives it a very gay and stirring appear- 
ance. At some distance from these are the less pretentious 
headquarters of some brigadier general, or colonel, while a 
little farther on are the modest tents of the rank and file and 
company officers arranged in streets. 



CAMP SCENES. 91 

The men around these are collected in groups, listening to 
long yarns beside the cook fire, or are formed into little parties 
playing cards, pitch and toss, or a thousand other games, known 
only in the army ; others, are dining, grumbling at their rations 
while dining on turkey. The cooks are busy around a huge 
till caldron, placed on the fire, in which a joint of bacon and 
some peas are bubbling and bubbling around as if they were 
patriotic enough to enjoy being eaten for the good of the sol- 
diers. A smaller vessel simmers near it, but as the lid is on it I 
cannot see its contents — most likely a brace of chickens under 
the wing of a fat turkey. This is the way our troops lived on 
Sherman's campaign. You might ask where they got all these 
good things? They will tell you, — 

" Bedad, cap, hard tack and sour billy were thinning us down 
like racers, and we sent Belzebub here [a full-blooded grinning 
negro] to buy these little luxuries for us." 

" The villain stole them, though ! " 

" O, no, massa cap, this nigger sartain he bought dem ere 
roosters," the hopeful Belzebub would grin out, as he resorted to 
that infallible remedy of a negro in distress, namely, to scratch his 
wool. The poor southern women will tell you that they forgot 
to pay ; and I believe them. The rascals became quite epicu- 
rean in their tastes in Carolina, good things flowed in such 
abundance on us. 

One evening, in passing by the men while at supper, I over- 
heard one call to the servant, " Come here, you black imp of 
Satan, and take this turkey ; I am tired of it ; and bring up that 
'ere chicken." 

The tents themselves had a very picturesque appearance, 
scattered over hill and valley, in streets and in clumps, looking 
like so many canvas villages, or huge gypsy encampments. 
The groups of soldiers, the lines of soldiers marching to or 
from picket, the sentries moving statelily on their beats, gen- 
erals and officers gayly dashing about, make a camp scene gor- 
geously imposing and impressive. 

How greatly is the eftect of a camp scene improved by night ! 
For miles around you the camp fires glitter and sparkle like the 



92 Sherman's march through the south. 

lamps of a city. If standing on a hill, one circle of dancing 
liglifs and sparkling fireflies encompasses you ; while from the 
valleys beneath you the fires also glow, and the noise of song 
and merriment, of the harmony of music, floats around you. 

In some places the fire has ignited the tall pines, and envelops 
them in one sheet of flame, which leaps from limb to limb, and 
feeds on the resinous trunks, presenting the appearance of thou- 
sands of fiery demons, or huge flaming pillars. Then the men 
crowded around them, gambling and enjoying themselves by 
their light, look like so many dark imps, keeping up some hell- 
ish orgy ; and the sentries, walking up and down with their 
glittering rifles reflected by the fire, add to the sublimity of the 
scene. 

The officers are in their tents reading, telling stories, or en- 
joying a drink or a cigar. What strong yarns are spun, what 
a lot of peach brandy is consumed, particularly if a late dis- 
covery has been made, and many casks exhumed ; if so, all the 
officers are collected in the mess tent, a huge fire glows in 
front ; around this their servants are collected, all cheered by 
tlie peach brandy, and highly amused at the antics of some six 
young Ethiopian minstrels — servants and camp follo\vfers — 
who are capering about in the most fantastic manner, singing 
all kinds of negro songs, timing them by clapping their hands 
together and on their thighs, thus keeping up the most dis- 
cordant harmony, all agreeing, " dat de day of Jubelon am 
come." 

It was certainly a strange sight to see these poor youths 
capering and jumping around to the no small amusement of the 
officers and men, who laughed heartily, and so highly appre- 
ciated the fun of the thing, that they gave the peach to them 
so liberally that they soon fell off", one by one. One lad made 
a vigorous stand to maintain his position. He was a musical 
genius ; could produce all kmds of sounds with his voice ; imi- 
tate a drum, a piano, a fiddle, and the Lord knows what. He 
was so appreciated, and filled with vanity like any vain white 
folk, he struggled on for a time, blending all the harmony of 
the spheres in the most hissing manner, until at length all his 



THE "captain's" RUSE. 93 

vanity yielded to the potent influence of peach brandy, and he 
fell down beside his brethren. 

Improvident and thoughtless soldiers are full of fun and 
drollery. Looking upon life as a very uncertain tenure, they 
try and make the most of it. Their motto is, " Eat, drink, and 
be merry, for to-morrow we die." You would hear more rich, 
real stories and incidents of battle-fields, beside a camp fire, 
from a jolly set of happy dogs, who, perhaps, might be shot the 
following day, than you would your whole life among your city 
friends. They will lie like troopers, and, I am afraid, steal and 
swear like troopers, too ; but then they make it all right by 
fighting like troopers. 

" I tell you, boys," said one of the men aroimd the camp 
fire, after taking a pull out of the fire-water bottle, " I once 
made a good thing out of a strayed horse I cotched. You see, 
when a poor private meets a streak of luck, if he blabs at all 
he is sure to be tricked out of his chance. In making 'tracks 
around the country, while serving in the cavalry, I came on a 
regular snorter, a coal-black stud, and, taking it for granted 
that his owner was a sneaking rebel, I brought him with me ; 
and I thought I would keep the matter dark until I could sell 
him ; but the general himself heard of him, and ordered me to 
turn him over. I had to do so, boys ; and didn't I swear he'd 
be the last horse I'd ever bring in ? Well, all the time the thing 
was heavy wid me, and I felt bad about it. I was orderly to 

Colonel Shuke, of the Illinois cavalry, and he was laid up 

with an ugly gash he got ; so I had my own way. The colonel 
had a captain's old coat ; so I drew a pair of his long boots 
over my pants, put on his coat, and turned out a very cred- 
itable lookin' captain. Knowing something of the barbering 
business, I embellished my frontispiece, which is as bare as a 
pole, with a fine pair of whiskers, made out of horse hair, and a 
darling mustache, just of the same material. Having fust man- 
aged to get the countersign, I rode off" through the woods to the 
general's quarters. Of course, being a captain, no one minded 
me. I tied my old horse under cover. The night was very 
dark ; so I crept up close to the headquarters ; there, sure 



94 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

enough, were all the horses, with a whole lot of orderlies, en- 
camped around them. I had to wait till they went to bed ; and 
there was no one there but the sentry, who occasionally sat on 
a pile of sacks, keeping watch all the time. 

" ' I will be up to that fellow,' says I, and got behind and let 
fall a bottle of whiskey, and then fell back to my hiding-place. 
He soon picked up the bottle, looked at it, took out the cork, 
and smelt it. 

" * Ain't I the lucky dog ! ' I heard him say. ' Some of the 
officers dropped this here. Well, they may bid good day to it 
now ; ' and he took a long pull out of it, and then sat down on 
the bags and took another pull, and then got up, went hisi 
rounds, and took another pull, and sat down again. I remarked 
that after every pull he sat longer and longer, until at last he 
fell asleep. 

" ' Now is my time,' says I ; so I up and slips off the horse, 
changes the saddles, and lets old rasper find his way home, 
which I knew he would. I knew a colonel who wanted a fust- 
rate horse, and would pay a big price. He was in the 17th 
corps. So off I started for his quarters next morning. 

" ' Is Colonel Strunt in?' says I. 

'"• 'Yes, captain,' replied an orderly. 

" ' I want to see him,' says I. 

The colonel soon walks out, hitching on his pants. 

" ' Good morning. Colonel Strunt,' says I, saluting him. 

" ' Good morning. Captain .' 

I saw he was at a loss about my name. 

" ' Sweltonback, of the 4th regulars,' I replied. 

" ' Captain Sweltonback. By George, but that is a splendid 
horse you have ; just turn him around.' 

The colonel was a great admirer of horse-flesh. 

" 'A noble horse, sir; but, colonel, I want to inquire, have 
you any man named George Sweltonback in your brigade. I 
have a brother in this corps somewhere.' 

" ' Sweltonback, Sweltonback ! Well, I think not ; but I shall 
inquire. Captain, wouldn't you be tempted to sell that horse?' 

""' Well, I don't like to part with him, as he is a great favorite ; 



HUMORS OP THE CAMP. 95 

but as I am going out of service in a few days, sooner than take 
him home, I'd sell him for a good sum/ 

" ' What price do you set on him, captain?' 

" ' Well, I can't exactly say. You see I haven't my mind 
made up. Would you think two hundred and fifty dollars too 
much ? ' 

" ' It's a big price, captain ; but I like the horse. I will go 
two hundred. I couldn't do more.' 

" After much haggling I let him have the horse at two hun- 
dred dollars, drank heartily, rode one of his horses the most of 
the way home, took off my beard, mustache, and captain's coat, 
and went to my quarters. 

" The general kicked up a dreadful row looking for that horse ; 
and when he came across Colonel Strunt riding on the identical 
black horse, wasn't there a scene ? It was as good as a play 
to see them. At it they went like two fishmongers, and I really 
thought they would run one another through ; for I was present 
at the interview." 

'' And how did they settle it? " 

" I really don't know, for I soon after left. There was a 
great fuss hunting up Captain Sweltonback, but he couldn't be 
found." 

" That was a capital trick," said a little wheezy man who 
seemed particularly attached to the bottle ; "but, by gorra, it 
wasn't as good as how Mick here eschaped from the tarnation 
murtherers that kilt him." 

" Tell us that, Mick," said the others by general acclamation. 

" An' sure it was nothing worth talking about," says Mick. 
" You see I went with a few of the boys to visit the neighbors ; 
and the spalpeens, not having any liking for us, took us prison- 
ers, and kilt one of the boys. We kilt two of them, and they 
said they'd kill another of us to make the number even ; and 
faith and troth they selected myself, and made me sthand up 
beside a three. Though I argued and rasonified with them, 
there was no help ; so die I must. Faix, I had no liking for it ; 
but that was no use at all. I had an old gun that was slightly 
bent, and wouldn't throw fair for the life of you ; and I knew 



96 Sherman's march through the south. 

there was two charges in it. All I ask of ye boys, honey, is to 
shoot *me with my own gun ; it would be a consolation to me. 
Well, they agreed to please me, seeing I was about to die ; so 
the fellow up and bobs at me ; but, murther, he an' I jumped 
up in the air as if for a wager. That gun was a caution to 
sinners ; it shot both ways, and kilt him deader behind than 
me before ; but I let on being dead all the time ; and when they 
kicked me to see if I were all right, I didn't sthir, but the blood 
gushed from my side ; so they set me down for dead. AYell, at 
night I got up, borrowed one of the dead men's coats, and stole 
away. The rest of my comrades never came back ; so I believe 
I was best off, after all." 

Women and children were dreadfully frightened at the 
approach of our army. It was almost painful to witness the 
horror and fear depicted on their features. Tliey were schooled 
up to this by lying statements of what atrocious murders we 
were committing. 

" Neither life nor virtue is sacred from these northern bar- 
barians ; the old and infirm perish by their bloody hands, while 
lovely women — our wives and daughters — are reserved for 
a fate even worse than death. Strike, men of the south, and 
exterminate such polluted wretches — such living demons." 

This is an extract from a southern paper. Is it any wonder, 
then, that the country people trembled at our approach, and hid 
themselves away in woods and caves ? I rode out one evening 
alone to pay a visit to another camp which lay some six miles 
beyond us. In trying to make a short way through the woods, 
I lost the road, and rambled on through the forest, trying to 
recover it. This is no easy matter, as I soon discovered ; for I 
only got deeper and deeper into the forest. I then turned my 
horse's head down a valley that I knew would lead me out on 
a camp somewhere. 

In riding along this, I thought I saw a woman among the 
the trees. I rode in the direction, and saw her darting like a 
frighted deer towards a thick copse of tangled briers, wild vines, 
and underbrush. 

Fearing some snare, I followed, with pistol in hand ; and 



FRIGHT OF THE INHABITANTS. 97 

heavens, what a sight met my view ! In the midst of the 
thicket, sheltered by a bold bluff, were about a dozen women, 
as many children, and three old men, almost crazy with fear 
and excitement. 

Some of them screamed when they saw me, and all huddled 
closer, as if resolved to die together. I tied my horse, and 
assured them that they had no cause for fear ; that I was not 
going to harm them, but would protect them, if needed. Thus 
assured, they became somewhat communicative. 

They told me that they thought the soldiers would kill them, 
and that they hid here on our approach. Thinking that we 
were only passing through, they had brought nothing to eat 
or to cover them. They were here now near three days, and 
had nothing but the berries they picked up in the woods. They 
looked wretched, their features Avan and thin, their eyes wild 
and haggard, and their lips stained from the unripe wild fruit. 
Some of them were lying down, huddled together to keep them- 
selves warm ; their clothes were all saturated from the dew and 
a heavy shower of rain which fell during the day. 

I do not think one could realize so much wretchedness and 
suffering as that group presented. Some of the women were 
evidently planters' wives and daughters ; their appearance and 
worn dresses betokened it ; others were their servants, or the 
wives of the farm-laborers. 

There were two black women, and some three picaninnies. 
Under the shelter of a tree, I saw a woman sitting down, rock- 
ing her body to and fro, as she wept bitterly. 

I went over to her. Beside her was a girl of some fourteen 
years, lying at full length. As I approached, she looked so 
pale and statue-like, I exclaimed, — 

" What's the matter. Is she in a faint? " 

" Yes ; in one that she won't waken from," said an old crone 
near. 

" Dead ! " I exclaimed. 

" Well, stranger, I reckon so ; better for her go, poor darling, 
than have the Yankees cotch her." 

It was so. She was dead. I understood she was delicate ; 
9 



98 Sherman's march through the south. 

and the liunger and cold had killed her. So much were they 
afraid* of beiug discovered that they had not even a fire 
lighted. 

I inquired my way to the camp, and soon returned with some 
provisions. The dead body was removed, and the sorrowing 
group returned to their homes ; but some of them had no 
homes, for the soldiers, on the principle that all abandoned 
houses belong to rebels, had laid them in ashes. 



MOVEMENTS OF THE ARMY. 99 



CHAPTER X. 

ASSAULTS AND SKIRMISHES NEAR DALLAS AND ALLATOONA.— 
WOOD'S DIVISION STORMING THE HILL. — CLEBURNE'S REBEL 
DIVISION DRIVE THEM BACK. — GALLANT ATTACK OF GENERAL 
T. W. SWEENY. — KENES AW MOUNTAIN.— GENERAL FRANK P. 
BLAIR ARRIVES. — PERSONAL RISKS OF OUR GENERALS.— 
SHERMAN SHELLING A SKULKER. — ATTACK ON A TRAIN, AND 
ITS CONSEQUENCES. 

We had secured possession of two good bridges across the 
Etowah, and had built some others. The army being recuper- 
ated and supplied with twenty days' rations, broke camp and 
moved forward on the morning of the 23d May. 

Johnston had now occupied the Allatoona Pass, his lines and 
works extending along the Allatoona range toward Dallas. 

The army of the Tennessee crossed the Etowah at the mouth 
of Conasaw Creek, and moved by the little town of Van Wirt, 
on our right flank, and south of Dallas. General Davis's 
division of the 14th corps had moved directly from Rome to 
Dallas, following McPherson's route. General Thomas, with 
the 4th and 20th, and part of the 14th corps, marched by 
Euharlee and Burnt Hickory, crossing the Pumpkin Vine Creek, 
on the main Dallas road. 

General Schofield, with the 23d corps, was moving still far- 
ther on our left. 

General Gerrard operated on the flank and rear of McPher- 
son's column ; General Stoneman, flank and rear of Schofield, 
with General McCook guarding our rear. 

On the 25th the 20th corps was well in advance on the centre. 
Williams's division crossed Pumpkin Vine Creek on a bridge 
partly burned by the rebels. Geary crossed about two miles 
farther up, and Butterfield about a mile below — all converging 
toward Dallas. 



100 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

About three miles south of Pumpkin Vine Creek the enemy 
opened suddenly, from the dense underwood that lined the roads, 
at the head of Hooker's column. 

A heavy line of skirmishers were deployed, driving the enemy 
back, on the column which had filed into line of battle on the 
right and left of the road. The country was hilly and densely 
wooded, and favorable to a sudden attack by the enemy. 
Hooker had but one division south of the creek ; the others 
were not up. 

The rebels made a fearful attack on Williams's division, but 
were met with firmness, and a surging, uncertain fight ensued. 
Williams was barely able to hold his position, for a large por- 
tion of both Polk's and Hood's corps were massed against him. 

About five o'clock Geary's noble "White Star Division" 
came to his support, and at once became engaged. Butterfield's 
division deployed into line of battle, and Williams and Butter- 
field charged the enemy in the face of a fierce storm of bullets 
and canister. 

Their ammunition was nearly exhausted, and the troops were 
wavering, when Geary's division, which, after th« first assault, 
had been thrown back in reserve, formed into three lines, and 
advanced to their support. 

Geary reserved his fire until close upon the enemy, and then 
poured a deadly volley into them, which made them waver ; but 
again they rallied, and the contest lasted until the darkness of 
night separated them. 

Howard's corps was in the rear of the 20th, Wood's 2d 
division in front, and rapidly hurried up to their support ; but 
on account of the darkness, and a heavy thunder and rain 
storm, were not able to get up in time to assist them. We 
hastily threw up breastworks, and the men lay for the night 
within four hundred yards of the enemy. The rebel troops 
engaged were Stevenson's, Stewart's, and Hindman's divisions. 

Sherman had ordered Hooker to make a bold push for New 
Hope Church, a point where the Ackworth, Dallas, and Mari- 
etta roads meet. In trying to do so. Hooker had thrown out 
one column as a feeler, and thus suddenly struck the enemy's 
lines. 



ASSAULTS AND SKIRMISHES. 101 

During the night the 4th corps, Howard's, moved into posi- 
tion on the left of Hooker's, with Schofield still on the extreme 
left. On the right of Hooker came Johnson's division of Palm- 
er's corps, while McPherson was still moving on Dallas by the 
extreme right flank. 

Johnston had occupied the Allatoona Ridge, a range of moun- 
tains extending in broken spurs. He had established lines 
along these, tending partly north-ea.5t by south-west. 

All the hills around were scooped, and grooved, and converted 
into rifle-pits and batteries. 

Our lines were formed in conformity to those of the rebels, 
but somewhat longer, and threatening to outflank them. 

The country here was very poor. Deep, dark valleys, high, 
barren ridges, all full of underbrush and forest trees, were the 
general characteristics. 

The 26th passed off with heavy skirmishing along our front, 
both armies trying to secure favorable positions. 

Our lines were pretty well established on the morning of the 
27th, and the scene opened with a desultory fire between the 
sharpshooters, growing brisker as the day advanced. 

Batteries were established in Hooker's front. These were 
covering a section in front, which occasionally opened on the 
enemy. 

A rebel brigade of Pat Cleburne's division made a dashing 
assault on the advance guns, believing they were but partially 
supported. They came on splendidly, as Cleburne's crack 
troops always did, but -were met by a concentrated musketry 
fire, and a generous allowance of canister from the guns. They 
staggered ; made another charge ; were again mowed down, 
and then fell back. Similar charges had been made at other 
points during the day. 

Johnston was looking out for a weak point to assault in force, 
but he soon found that there were no weak points there. 

In the afternoon General Thomas J. Wood, commanding the 

2d division, 4th corps, made a flank movement, wheeling round 

the 23d corps. He was ordered to feel the enemy's right flank, 

and if possible turn it. He had to march through a regular 

9* 



102 Sherman's march through the south. 

jungle of trees and underbrush, whicli consumed the most of 
the day. So it was close on night when he was able to form 
into line and advance. Wood wished to defer the assault until 
morning, but his orders were peremptory. 

He formed his division into columns of double lines by bri- 
gades. General Hazen's brigade in front ; Scribner's brigade of 
Johnson's division, 14th corps, supported Wood on the left. 

It was an ugly place to advance. Steep hills, thick brush- 
wood, and a small road that crossed a stream leading up to a 
place called Picket's Mills, were to be traversed. 

The troops moved calmly and steadily up that hill, through 
the matted wood, crossed the intervening ravine, and gained 
the crest of the hill. One would think these fine fellows were 
going to a parade, instead of to death, so calm and composed 
did they look. 

Having gained the crest of the hill, they halted to dress up 
their lines, and then descended its sides into a deep ravine, which 
separated them, by about one hundred yards, from the rebel 
works. Across this they charged with a shout. The rebels 
had all the time reserved their fire, and had lain down in their 
intrenchments, to make us believe that they were not in force. 
As our lines approached, they jumped to their feet. Two 
masked guns belched forth on us, Avhile a regular sheet of lead 
and flame seemed to burst from behind the intrenchments. 

Under this fierce storm our men rushed up to the enemy's 
works, many of them sheltering themselves behind them. 

It Avas Cleburne's division that was there. This iron chief, 
the Stonewall Jackson of the western army, and his famed 
troops, seemed ubiquitous, for in the early part of the day he 
was fighting away on our centre. 

Our lines were shattered, our ammunition exhausted, and we 
had to fall back. 

The remnant of Wood's division intrenched itself, fearing 
an attack from the enemy during the night. They also suc- 
ceeded in bringing in most of their dead and wounded. 

Major Hanson, of General Wood's staff, was among the 
killed. He was a thorough gentleman, refined and courteous ; 



WOOD STORMING THE HILL. 103 

a true soldier, brave and chivalrous. He died as he lived, 
a Christian and a soldier. 

The loss in Wood's division was very severe, numbering 
about thirteen hundred, all told. They made a desperate fight, 
but they fought against every disadvantage. 

Fatigued with a trying march, they had to charge over hilly 
ground on strong intrenchments guarded by desperate troops. 

I strayed around that hill-side, where we had laid our dead 
and wounded that night. My horse could scarcely pick his way 
through them, so closely were they lying ; yet the noble brute 
picked his steps as safely as if it were clear day. It is 
strange that a horse will not shy at dead men ; and you can 
scarcely get him to pass one of his own species when dead. 

He will walk through piles of dead on the darkest night 
without touching a single man. 

That assault of Wood's division was one of the fiercest I 
have ever witnessed. One continued file firing Avas kept up all 
through. No pattering of bullets, but one unceasing roar of 
musketry ran along the lines for hours. The officers and men 
did all that men could do — rallied, charged ; but all to no use. 
Cleburne's division was too strongly intrenched. As the 124th, 
41st, and 1st Ohio were bringing in the dead and wounded, the 
rebels jumped from their works and attacked them. They fought 
like so many tigers over their prey. When we gained that 
bloody field we could then see how desperately we fought for 
its possession. 

Dead bodies were found lying just behind the rebel works. 
The trees in the valley were cut through with bullets, just as if 
mowed down. The ramrods, fired in the hurry of the moment, 
were stuck in the trees. 

Captain Stenson, of General Howard's stafiT, was badly 
wounded, and Howard slightly. General Howard and General 
Wood remained on the ground until near day, seeing that the 
troops were all safe and the wounded cared for, and then they 
threw themselves down, but not to sleep, for shells came hur- 
tling through the trees, bursting near them. A piece of one 
struck General Johnson, of the 14th corps, in the side, seriously 
wounding him. 



104 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

After much marching and mancEUvring, and considerable 
skirmfshing, McPherson had taken up his position in front of 
DaUas. The enemy were not content to leave him inactive. 
About three o'clock on the afternoon of the 28th they opened 
an attack on Logan's pickets, and a very sharp contest ensued, 
and was maintained with great obstinacy on both sides. The 
enemy being largely reenforced, and Logan not sufficiently 
supported, his advance had to fall back on the main lines. 

It was evident from their manoeuvring and feeling our lines, 
that the enemy meant to make an assault. 

About five o'clock the rebels had massed in heavy columns, 
and charged on General Harrow's division. The rebel column 
moved boldly up the hill, exposed to a heavy artillery fire. Our 
troops lay down in their works, letting the enemy come within 
a few hundred yards of their breastworks, when they jumped 
to their feet, and poured into that proud, defiant column volley 
after volley, which made them quail and falter. 

Again they rallied and charged, cheering one another on, and 
dashing right up to our works. We had brought some guns 
to bear on their flank, thus exposing them to an enfilading 
fire. Despite this they doggedly persisted in maintaining their 
position, actually charging right against the works. At length 
they began to break ofi* in detail, and soon the whole mass fol- 
lowed, making for the shelter of their works and the woods. 
Scarcely had this assault been repulsed, when they renewed 
it, in front of Osterhaus's line, repeating the same game with 
similar effects. 

After this there was a considerable lull in the storm of battle, 
and we thought that the enemy had given up all hopes of re- 
newing his mad assaults ; but we were disappointed. 

This time they had collected their troops for one more des- 
perate effort in front of Sweeny's division, 16th corps ; but 
they met a stubborn customer in Sweeny. 

Was he, brave Tom Sweeny, — who had lost his right arm in 
Mexico ; whose desperate resistance at Stone River was the 
turning-point of that important battle ; who had earned the 
name of " Bulldog Sweeny," so tenaciously did he hold his own, 



GALLANT ATTACK OF GENERAL SWEENY. 105 

or scourge the rebels in his fights, — was he now to yield to 
twice repulsed columns ? Certainly not ; and Sweeny met their 
assault with his characteristic dashing bravery, soon driving 
them back in broken and disjointed masses. 

Dallas is about twenty miles from the line of railway at 
Marysville, and forty-five from Atlanta. 

The operations around AUatoona and Dallas were not looked 
upon in the light of a general engagement, but rather a succes- 
sion of heavy skirmishes — desperate assaults and repulses. 
Johnston tried the assault on the right, and was repulsed with 
great slaughter ; we repeated the game on the left and left cen- 
tre with equal success. The following days we had continual 
heavy skirmishing and partial assaults along the lines, except 
in front of McPherson's position, which the enemy desperately 
assaulted. For twelve days, which were enlivened by continued 
attacks and heavy skirmishing, we lay around the AUatoona 
range. 

On the 1st of June General McPherson moved to his left, and 
occupied General Thomas's place. Our left was then strength- 
ened, and swung around, occupying the woods leading to Al- 
latoona and Ackworth. General Stoneman's cavalry advanced 
into AUatoona, at the east end of the pass, and General Ger- 
rard's cavalry at the west end. Our infantry lines were now 
closing up, and we had fully accomplished our work in flanking 
the Alltoona pass. 

Johnston, finding his position untenable, fell back to the Ken- 
esaw range of hills. Kenesaw itself comprised twin peaks, 
rising boldly out of the valley, and commanding the line of rail- 
way and the passes to Marietta. Extending on our right was 
a range of hills, the highest of which are Pine Mountain and 
Lost Mountain. These form one continuous, irregular link of 
conical hills, with Kenesaw covering the town of Marietta, and 
the railroad back to the Chattahoochee. The enemy now occu- 
pied these hills with a line fully twelve miles long. The crests 
and sides of the hills were bristling with batteries, and crowds 
of men, looking in the distance like so many huge ants, were 
busy felling trees, digging rifle-pits and intrenchments, and in 



106 Sherman's march through the south. 

every way making grand preparations for the impending strug- 
gle. Sherman moved by Ackworth, and established a base of 
supplies at the Allatoona pass. He placed a garrison here, 
and had the railroad bridge across the Etowah built. He soon 
had a large store of supplies up. 

"While at Ackworth we were reenforced by Major General 
Blair, with two divisions of the 17th corps, and Colonel Long's 
brigade of cavalry. 

General Frank P. Blair is a man of considerable energy and 
resolution. He is about five feet eleven inches high, with strong, 
expressive features, covered with a long, sandy beard. Since 
the time he joined Sherman, until the winding up of the cam- 
paign by Johnston's surrender, his military career has been very 
creditable. In the campaign through South Carolina, a large 
share of the fighting fell to the lot of his corps, the 17th. 

Sherman calculated that these timely reenforcements would 
supply his loss in battle since the opening of the campaign. 
I expect, in every way, we must have lost, up to this, about 
twelve thousand men. Perhaps the enemy's loss was less, as 
they for the most part fought behind strong intrenchments. 

Several curious incidents, showing the danger to which our 
generals were exposed, occurred at this time. General Hook- 
er's and Thomas's headquarters were very well under range 
of the enemy's guns, so that shells were falling about pretty 
fast. A piece of one went through General Hooker's mess tent, 
and another carried off a camp stool he was going to sit on. 

" Very impolite indeed ! " said the general, looking after it, 
and getting another. 

As for Thomas, I don't think he was ever guilty of perpe- 
trating a joke ; he is too grave and stoical for that. 

Sherman, in his abrupt manner, says some good things. He 
was standing near a battery one day, as we were shelling along 
the line previous to Wood's advance, and with his glass was 
closely examining the enemy's position. Seeing them getting 
up a battery at a certain point, he turned to Captain De Grass, 
and said, "Look here ; do you see that point on the right of the 
wood ? " 



INCIDENTS OF A BATTLE-FIELD. 107 

" Yes, general.'* 

" Put a shell in tliem ; yes, put them in there ; they are trying 
to start a battery there to sweep this point ; start them out of 
it, you, first." 

Sherman himself went to sight the first gun, and while doing 
so a sharpshooter sent a bullet glancing along the barrel just by 
his cheek. 

" Ha ! close shaving, that ; well, let us pay them back the 
compliment — fire ! " and right went the shell bang among them. 

" Very good, very good," said he with a grin ; " that kicked 
up a dust, and some of their heels, too ; give them more of them, 
with my compliments, captain." And away went Sherman's 
killing compliments, compelling the rebels to give up the idea 
of establishing their battery at that point. 

A man almost dead with fear had crouched under the roots 
of an uprooted tree. Sherman chanced to take shelter from a 
fierce fire near by. When a shell burst close, the fellow would 
writhe, and cry out, " O Lord ! O Lord ! if I get out of this, 
I'll never be caught again. O, dear ! O, dear ! if I once get 
home— O, it's dreadful ! I know I'll be killed ! " 

Sherman was so amused at the fellow's cowardice, that in 
order to increase his terror he would fling stones against the old 
tree, when the fellow crouched closer, exclaiming, " O, dear ! it 
is awful ! it's dreadful ! I'll surely be killed ! " 

" That's hard firing, my man," exclaimed the general. 

" Hard ! O, it's fearful. I think thirty shells struck this tree 
while I was here." 

" It's all over now, my man ; come out." The trembling 
wretch crawled out and looked about him. There was Sherman 
standing quite coolly. When the man saw who his tormentor 
was, he was nearly frightened as much as by the shells, and 
darted right off for his command, not heeding the shells this time. 

A battle-field is one record of stirring incidents and acts 
of personal bravery, a few of which I will here relate. As 
a class, the sharpshooters must use a great deal of caution and 
strategy, both to shelter themselves and induce the enemy to 
expose themselves. Some sharpshooters had taken down several 



108 Sherman's march through the south. 

of our men from behind the shelter of some large trees which 
protected them. But our boys resorted to a ruse. They sec- 
tioned off in twos, and took up favorable positions ; then one 
would dart out from the tree. The rebel sharpshooter, believ- 
ing that he had a sure thing of it, would expose himself, and pop 
at the other. This gave the comrade an opportunity of taking 
a sure shot at the rebel, while the other's motions were so rapid 
that he most likely escaped. The effects of fear, amounting 
almost to insanity, sometimes developed in action, are very 
extraordinary. In General Harker's brigade, the men w^ere 
under orders to advance, when a sergeant retired to his tent, and 
shot himself through the head. I have known several cases of 
the kind. It appears strange that a man from fear of going 
into battle should kill himself. I have often seen men strip 
themselves stark naked, and run crazy out of a battle-field. I 
might suspect their sincerity, but I have seen them rush in this 
manner, under fire, into the rebel lines. This is caused, no 
doubt, by the stunning effect of shells bursting around them, and 
killing their comrades. So great is the terror produced by the 
explosion of several shells, that I have seen a horse that was 
under a very heavy fire, tremble, the sweat at the same time 
bursting out of every pore, and then drop down dead, without 
being touched by ball or shell. I have also known some noble 
instances of the affection of the horse for his master. An or- 
derly of General Logan's, while carrying a despatch, was shot. 
His horse was a great pet, and would follow him and obey his 
commands. As soon as the master fell, the horse stood up, and 
turned round, and whined most piteously. Though the noble 
animal seemed fully sensible of his danger, and would turn 
about to shelter himself from the shot and shell which were fall- 
ing around fast and furious, still he remained with the body 
several hours. He would move away a little by times, and 
neigh, as if calling for help, and when this failed, would again 
return to the body. I have known several other instances of 
affection on the part of the horse. A wounded horse looks at 
you with the most piteous, upbraiding expression, as much as 
to say, " It's all your doings ; I had nothing to do with it." 



AN AMUSING OCCURRENCE. 109 

Johnston's position was now a strong one, besides, he had been 
reenforced by some ten thousand Georgia and Alabama militia. 
He now occupied the last strong range of hills north of the 
Chattahoochee. If driven from this he should fall behind the 
river, thus relieving us from the harassing attempts made by his 
cavalry and guerrilla squads, from his flank, upon our rear and 
lines of communication. We had to garrison the railroad 
bridge on the river, important posts, and the different towns 
back to Chattanooga. We had to leave a garrison at Tunnel 
Hill, Eesaca, Rome, Kingston, Allatoona, and other posts. This, 
of course, considerably weakened Sherman's effective strength. 
The militia, or one hundred days' men, soon relieved portions of 
these. The different garrisons, posts, and block-houses bad to 
be connected by a chain of pickets, to prevent squads of cav- 
alry from raiding on the line, and destroying it and the 
telegraph wires. Still, they often succeeded in misplacing a 
rail, or placing a peculiar iron crank upon it, thus throwing 
the train off the track. This was a daily occurrence, and if 
by any chance it failed, they would open fire from the thickets 
of the forest on the train. Many passengers and soldiers got 
killed this way. Many trains were thrown off, until the whole 
line looked one lying-in hospital of invalid cars. I heard Sher- 
man oftentimes say, " That cursed line is more trouble to me 
than to whip Johnston." 

The following amusing incident occurred to me in one of my 
dangerous trips on this road. We were crowded inside lug- 
gage vans and dirty cars ; outside them, in every place that a man 
could be stowed, a man was perched. The soldiers on the top 
had their pieces ready, looking out for breakers, while we, 
inside, were busy with revolvers, and wishing that the rascals 
dared make their appearance, just for the fun of the thing. 
Among those loudest in praise of his own heroism was a sutler, 
who, with a huge navy revolver, swore he was a match for any 
six of the guerrillas. By some chance we had a lady travelling 
with us, who appeared very much alarmed, and clung to the 
valiant Jack Falstaff hero for shelter and protection. This 
fired his courage. He told her to stick close to him, which she 
10 



110 Sherman's march through the south. 

literally did, by putting her arms around his waist. Really, it 
was delightful to see her clinging to him, and to witness his bold, 
defiant air, as much as to say, " Let them come on now if they 
dare." We were passing above Resaca, in a gloomy section of 
country, without a house within miles of us. We had passed the 
military post a few miles, when bang goes a volley from the wood 
at the cars. At the same time the locomotive ran off the track ; 
but as it was going very slow, this was not of much consequence. 
The volley was returned by the men on the top, some of whom 
fell off, from the shock of the engine. We jumped up, and I 
naturally looked to see if our brave hero was mowing down the 
Philistines. All his courage had evaporated at the sound of 
lead, and he lay sprawling at the bottom of the car, making 
frantic efforts with one hand to keep the woman between him 
and the dangerous side, while with the other he was piling a 
regular barricade of sacks of corn around him. I took up the 
pistol, and could not resist the temptation of giving him a very 
powerful application of my boot, which he must have taken for 
a wipe of a shell, for he swore and prayed most vehemently, 
and kicked most spasmodically. If he were under the opera- 
tions of a most powerful battery, he could not do it better. The 
woman was almost frightened out of her life by his squalls and 
antics. Our men soon formed, and drove off the guerrillas. 
Fortunately, there was no one seriously injured, and the train 
having been put to rights, we soon got off. Our friend of the 
buskin courage was quite chop-fallen. He suffered most by the 
solicitude of the woman, who wanted to know where he was 
wounded. It was no use denying that he was, for she vowed 
that she felt the piece of shell hitting him, and he wouldn't 
halloo so, only he was badly hurt. 



SHERMAN COMMANDS A BATTERY. Ill 



CHAPTER Xr. 

KENESAW MOUNTAIN. — SHERMAN COMMANDS A BATTERY.— 
DEATH OF BISHOP POLK. — THE MARCH THROUGH THE MOUN- 
TAIN PASSES. — SHERMAN'S STEAM SCOUT.— A FRIENDLY VISIT, 
AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 

McPhersoj^ commanded the line of railroad between Alla- 
toona and Kenesaw, marching on parallel roads. General 
Hooker was on the right, with Schofield a little retired, and 
General Thomas in the centre, fronting Kenesaw. A heavy 
fall of rain set in on the 13th and 14th, rendering active opera- 
tions impossible. A brisk artillery fire was kept up on different 
parts of the lines. 

Towards the right of our line were some strong positions. 
Lost Mountain and Pine Mountain were separated by interven- 
ing hills. On these the rebels had established some batteries. 
Sherman was manoeuvring in order to compel Johnston to fall 
back from these natural ridges extending from Kenesaw, which 
would throw open the road by Nickajack Creek, and give 
him a better chance of flanking his left. On the morning 
of the 14th some change had been made in our lines. The 
fourth corps moved forward in the centre, closing up well on 
Hooker. 

Skirmishers were thrown out in order to cover the advance 
of our lines, and a few sections of artillery were placed in po- 
sition. The skirmishing was pretty brisk towards evening, and 
the batteries opened a dropping fire on the rebel position. 
Sherman rode up to a battery, and turned his glass towards Pine 
Mountain. 

After taking a good view he turned to the officer in com- 
mand, saying, " Captain Simonson, can you send a shell right 



112 Sherman's march through the south. 

on the top of that knob ? I notice a battery there, and several 
general officers near it.'* 

" I'll try, general." 

The captain fired, and the general looked on with his glass. 

" Ah, captain, a little too high ; try again, with a shorter 
fuse ; " and up went the glass to his eye. Away went the shell, 
tearing through General Bishop Polk in its course. 

" That will do," said Sherman, shutting down his glass. 

It is said that Johnston and Hardee were on their horses 
beside Polk when he fell, and when the first shell came they 
remarked, — 

" It is safer to alight." 

Polk smiled, and still staid surveying our position, and thus 
met his death. 

We knew that night that he was killed, for our signal officers 
had discovered the system of the rebel signals, which enabled 
them to read the despatches along the enemy's lines. 

When we took that hill, two artillerists, who had concealed 
themselves until we had come up, and then came within our 
lines, showed us where his body lay after being hit. There was 
one pool of clotted gore there, as if an animal had been bled. 
The shell had passed through his body from the left side, tearing 

the limbs and body in pieces. Doctor M and myself searched 

that mass of blood, and discovered pieces of the ribs and arm 
bones, which we kept as souvenirs. The men dipped their 
handkerchiefs in it too, whether as a sacred relic, or to remind 
them of a traitor, I do not know. 

Thus fell Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk. He was born 
in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1806. He graduated at West 
Point, but soon after entered the Protestant Episcopal ministry, 
and was appointed missionary bishop to Kansas and the Indian 
territory. In 1841 he was appointed regular bishop of the 
diocese of Louisiana. 

At the breaking out of the rebellion he was appointed major 
general, with command of the district of the Mississippi. The 
battle of Belmont was fought, and Forts Henry and Donelson 
fell, while the department was under his command. At the 



UEUTENANT GENERAL POLK. ^ 113 

battle of Shiloh General Polk had command of a corps under 
Beauregard. He also served at Corinth. 

Having the command of a corps under Bragg, he participated 
in the movements through Tennessee and Kentucky. He fought 
at the battle of Perryville, in October, 1862. Here he showed 
wonderful presence of mind, for somehow getting into the Federal 
lines he passed off as a Federal officer, actually ordering a regi- 
ment to cease firing. He served at Murfreesborough and Stone 
River ; also during the fearful struggle of Chickamauga. On 
account of some difference with Bragg regarding that battle he 
was relieved. In January, 1864, he was again in the field, 
assuming the temporary command of the department of the 
Mississippi, in place of Johnston, appointed to the chief command. 
He commanded a wing of Johnston's army all through the cam- 
paign against Sherman, until he lost his life on Pine Knob. 

The 15th opened with an irregular artillery fire along the 
lines, increasing as the day advanced. Our lines had pushed 
considerably forward at several points. A part of McPherson's 
command moved obliquely towards the left and the railroad, 
and soon became engaged with the enemy. Harrow's division, 
of the 15th corps, took up a position on their left, with Oster- 
haus in reserve. Towards evening McPherson's command 
engaged the enemy in front, while Harrow, with his division, 
wheeled to the right, forming a semicircle. He thus overlapped 
an outlying detachment of the enemy, comprising the 31st and 
40th Alabama. They had soon to surrender. Harrow then 
fell back with his prisoners, and McPherson closed up his line, 
shifting more to the left. 

Sherman, finding that Johnston had occupied too extended 
a line for his forces, resolved to break through it between 
Kenesaw and Pine Mountain, and thus split his army in two. 
Simultaneously with McPherson's movements the other corps 
advanced, the 14th corps against the enemy's position on Ken- 
esaw ; Howard occupied Pine Mountain, and Hooker against 
the enemy's intrenched position on Lost Mountain. This assault 
of Hooker's was one of the most desperate and best sustained 
of the many charges made on the enemy's position while occu- 
10* 



114 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

pying the stronghold of these mountain ranges. Lost Mountain 
is a donieal-shaped hill, separated by a ridge from Pine Moun- 
tain : this ridge runs obliquely, connecting with Kenesaw. The 
enemy's left rested on Lost Mountain ; therefore this strong 
position Avas of vital importance. It covered a valley or gorge, 
which was the only outlet for our army to make a flank move- 
ment. Geary's second division formed into line of battle, and 
moved forward in column by brigade ; Colonel Ireland's bri- 
gade being in advance, Colonel P. H. Jones's next, and Colonel 
Candy's next. Geary's division was supported by the first and 
second divisions. 

Heavy lines of skirmishers were first thrown out in order to 
develop the enemy's strength and position. These were closely 
followed by the assaulting column, and a fierce fight ensued. 
For a moment the column was checked, but again they rallied, 
and charged with such desperate impetuosity that they soon had 
possession of the enemy's first line of w^ork, driving them towards 
the crest of the mountain. Geary occupied the intrenchments 
and strengthened his position. In the course of the evening 
the enemy made several ineffectual attempts to regain their lost 
ground. This was a noble charge of Geary's division, and was 
right nobly sustained and resisted. 

Colonel Ireland's brigade suffered heaviest, it having lost in 
all about three hundred men. For a time it had to sustain the 
whole charge, but was ably supported by Colonel P. H. Jones's 
— now General Jones — brigade, which dashed into its sup- 
port with that daring impetuosity which has characterized itself 
and its brave young commander. Colonel Jones was wounded 
at Pea Vine Creek, and had just returned in time to partici- 
pate in the present fight, in which he lost about two hundred 
men. Colonel Candy's brigade lost about one hundred and 
thirty men. 

While Hooker was engaged on the right, McPherson on the 
left, Howard moved on the centre, wheeling by Pine Mountain. 
The rebels retreated from the hilly knob in front to the range 
in rear, thus affording Howard only a chance of skirmishing 
with them. Towards evening his troops occupied Pine Knob, 



SOUTHERN SOLDIERS LOSING HEART. 115 

where General Polk was killed. For the last three days we 
had captured a large number of prisoners, in all about two thou- 
sand. Geary, in his assault, captured about one half of these ; 
several of them had deserted into our lines. It is evident that 
the southern soldiers were then losing heart in their cause. I 
had been speaking to several of them, and they said, " The 
newspapers and officers tell us we are going on well ; we can't 
see it, though. Our lines are thinning every day ; our officers 
don't care for our lives, but dash us upon your lines recklessly, 
and get us butchered ; we are falling back every day ; if this is 
going on well, I can't see it.'* 

It is true that our army acted through the intelligence of the 
mass ; theirs through that of their leaders. They appeared to 
be mere puppets in the hands of the latter. The foreign ele- 
ment in their army was deserting very rapidly. On the 16th a 
captain, three lieutenants, and fifty-five men came into McPher- 
son's lines near Big Shanty. They assigned as their reason 
that they were tired of the war. They had served for three 
years, and did not want to fight any longer. They had been 
conscripted, and did not want to fight at all against the Union. 
Now, as they had got the chance, they deserted. 

"O mein Gott ! " exclaimed a German, " we have got 'nuff 
of de hunger, and de rout, and am tired of de ting." 

I asked an Irishman how it was that he, who had come from 
an oppressed country, could fight against the government that 
gave him a home and a living. 

"Begor, you see, sir," replied Pat, "we were down here 
when the ruction was kicked up, and sure there couldn't be a 
shindy without having an Irishman at one end or tudder ; so 
when we couldn't join the right side we had to fall in wid the 
wrong." 

While around Big Shanty, Ira B. Tuttle, with some four 
men, made a reconnoissance on the enemy's flank and rear. 
They struck on a quartermaster's depot, full of forage, some 
sixteen miles south-west from Atlanta. They made an unex- 
pected dash on the concern, which was poorly guarded. They 
captured the captain, a lieutenant colonel, and some five men 



116 Sherman's march through the south. 

who were lounging about. They secured their prisoners in au 
out-office, helped themselves to some good horses and equips 
ments, leaving their own sorry nags in exchange, set fire to the 
store, which contained a large supply of corn and bacon, and 
returned safely to their own quarters. 

The success of our march has been unprecedented. Though 
our progress had been checked by natural barriers, strong 
enough to intimidate a less resolute general than Sherman, oi 
less daring an army than his, — though our march lay through 
the mountain regions of Georgia, through bold, craggy hills, 
where the men had to drag up their bodies by grasping pro 
jecting rocks or branches, through deep defiles and tanglec 
brushwood, where the foot of man had never before disturbe( 
the solitude of the place, nor the repose of snakes and crawling 
reptiles, — still onward that gallant army pressed, driving befor( 
them a stubborn enemy, who doggedly disputed every mountaii 
crag and pass, and whose uflerring rifle, like that of the rec 
Indian, hurled death from every thicket. Napoleon's exploit ii 
crossing the Alps stands forth as the nonpareil of militarj 
achievements. Napoleon's chief foes were the cold and snow 
Sherman had to encounter hills, some two thousand feet high, ii 
which a powerful enemy lay intrenched, and which actuallj 
bristled with cannons and bayonets. Which is the noble: 
exploit I leave to history to judge. 

Johnston thought himself fully secure in the strong range oi 
hills near Dalton ; but Sherman flanked him here, and 
managed as to head him from the bold and defensible rai 
of the Chattagata Mountains, crippling him severely by th( 
desperate battle of Resaca. Johnston's next battle-ground wai 
the Allatoona Range. Here, too, he deemed his positioi 
impregnable ; but he soon found that even the mountain fastnes! 
was a poor security. When driven from this, after severj 
days' obstinate fighting, we hoped that he would fall bad 
behind the Chattahoochee, allowing us to debouch on the opei 
country lying between Marietta and the Chattahoochee ; but 
Johnston resolved to defend the strong position at Kenesa\v 
and the neighboring range of hills. Here they firmly in-* 



A SUCCESSFUL EXPEDIENT. 117 

trenched themselves, their left and the batteries from Ken- 
esaw commanding the railroad, their right resting on Lost 
Mountain, and commanding the pass by which Sherman could 
debouch on their flank towards the river. The rebel line 
extended in a south-westerly direction, or rather almost directly 
from east to M'-est. 

Our operations of the 15th and 16th towards the base of the 
ridge made them fall back, not only from that point, but also 
from Lost Mountain and Pine Knob. 

The enemy kept their batteries on their right flank, com- 
manding the Marietta road, very silent. Sherman was at a loss 
to know what guns they had there, to see how far an assault 
was practicable. It was an important position, and McPherson 
was close upon it. 

No amount of artillery fire, or annoyance from our sharp- 
shooters, could bring them out. 

Sherman struck on a plan. He ordered a locomotive to be 
attached to three cars, and to put on fall steam. 

" Now," said he, " run that down the road like hell ! " 

On she started, puffing, blowing, and snorting as if she werei 
bent on going right into Atlanta. 

The rebels heard the noise of the fiery monster as she came 
on, throwing sparks from her chimney, as if lashing herself into 
fury. They sprang from intrenchments, redoubts, and forts, 
coming to the conclusion that it was laden with troops making 
a sudden dash into Marietta, on their rear. They opened at it 
right and left. Every battery was soon playing away at the 
monster, which, though perforated in several places, hissed and 
shrieked the more, as if hurling defiance at them. 

*' That will do," said Sherman, walking away ; " I know 
what they have there, now." 

Whether the engine got knocked off* the track, or got a shot 
through her boiler, I can't tell. She did good service, however ; 
for the enemy revealed guns enough to convince Sherman that 
they were too strong to be assaulted there. 

The rebels now commenced threatening our communications. 
Heretofore, any attempts were mere guerrilla efforts ; but on the 



118 Sherman's march through the south. 

morning of the 16th, the rebel General Wharton, commanding 
a brigade of two thousand five hundred men, made a descent on 
the road between Kingston and Dalton, capturing and burning 
five freight trains laden with supplies. Recnforcements were 
hurried up from different points, and arrived in time to prevent 
them from doing any serious damage. They hovered about for 
some time, threatening our communications. 

While lying in front of Kenesaw, several days would pass 
over without any fighting, unless a kind of duel between the 
enemy's artillery on the hills, crests, and sides, and ours 
beneath them, and some volleys between the pickets, simply to 
keep their hands in practice, might be called fighting. 

We were tired of this, and wanted a battle, or some other 
excitement, to rouse us up. We were tired of watching the 
course of the shells as they whirred through the air, and con- 
jecturing as to where they fell, or whom they killed. 

" I tell you that fellow fell right in our second brigade," one 
would say. 

" Indeed, it didn't. It was more to the right," was the reply. 

" Well, it was a whopper. I am sure it was a sixty-four- 
pounder." 

"Pshaw, there is more of it. How the hell do you know? 
Now, I'd take my oath it was only a twelve-pound parrott shell." 

" But I am confident it was a sixty-four-pounder. Didn't you 
hear the noise of it ? " 

" How the deuce could they get up so heavy a gun there ; 
but, whist ; here comes another ? " and as this fellow was evi- 
dently visiting us, we jumped up and hugged some trees most 
afiectionately, until he had paid his flying visit. 

One evening. Colonel M and myself thought the thing 

such a bore that we decided on visiting some friends in the 
20th corps. A camp is a very hospitable kind of place. From 
the highest general down to the lowest full private, a drink is 
the summum honum of hospitality. 

Our friend had just raised a barrel of strong apple-jack at the 
expense of the natives. We found himself and his brother 
officers in a large hospital tent. They had all come to con- 



A CAMP VISIT. 119 

gratulate the colonel upon his valuable discovery, and also to 
taste said discovery. Some were joining in a rousing chorus, 
with their tin cans and fruit cans full of the native, held up for 
inspection, as they chorused, — 

" We won't go home till morning." 

Others, who had dropped off, were lying around, enjoying a 
snooze. We were a welcome accession, and were received with 
uproarious shouts. 

It was getting dark, and a cold, drizzling rain was falling 
when we started to return. 

When we got into the camp of our own division, I remarked 
the sentry at one post sitting under a tree, consoling himself 
with puffing a long pipe. 

" Colonel," said I, " that sentry hasn't challenged us." 

" Where — re — is he, the rascal ? I'll have him up," hickuped 
the colonel, who was stringent in the observance of military duty. 

We turned back. 

" I say, sir, — do you hear ? " 

" Well, I reckon I do," said the other, coolly knocking the 
ashes from his pipe, and, placing the gun, which stood upright 
near the tree, between his knees. 

" Why th — h — 1 didn't you challenge us? " 

"Challenge you; "and he took a long pull from the pipe. 
" Catch me challenging two drunken officers ; you might have 
a taste about you, colonel ; the night is raw ; " and he resumed 
his pipe. 

This was too much for the colonel ; so he turned around, 
leaving, the sentry in peace. 

" This reminds me," as Abe Lincoln would say, of a similar 
incident that occurred to me in the army of the Potomac. I 
had passed a sentry on a very important advanced post without 
being challenged. I turned around to reprimand him, asking 
him why he did not challenge. 

" Faith, captain," said he, presenting arms, " I didn't know 
you. 



120 



CHAPTER XII. 

A CIlArTER OF FIGHTING. -JOHNSTON ADDRESSES FALSE WORDS 
TO ins MEN. — A DISAPPOINTMENT TO THE REBELS. — BATTLE 
OF GULP'S FARM. — DEATH OF GENERAL UARKER.- HIBERNIAN 
ANECDOTE. 

The duration and the fierce nature of the conflict of our cam- 
paign through Northern Georgia is unsurpassed in history. 
Fifty days from the opening of the conflict we sat down in front 
of Keuesaw. There were but few of these days that wo 
had not more or less fighting along our lines. The days were 
followed by weary nights of incessant toil, oftentimes lighting 
and building breastworks and intrenchments — weary nights 
of restless anxiety, with the cold, damp ground for our bed, 
sleeping on Avet branches, sometimes on rails, to keep us from 
the mud ; and then how often were our rude couches rendered 
too hot for us by the pattering bullets which rattled around us ! 

The rebels disputed every inch of ground with a heroism 
that has won our admiration, and has caused a feeling of regret 
that such soldiers had not a better cause. 

The ICth passed ofl' quietly. On the evening of the 17th 
heavy skirmishing opened in front of Stanley's division of the 
4th corps. Ilarker's brigade, of Newton's division, and part 
of llazen's brigade, of Wood's division, were also sharply en- 
gaged. Towards night the rebels opened a fierce fire along 
Howard's front, sending shot into our very camps and tents. 
Bradley's and Bridge's batteries replied with eflcct. 

On the left, near Big Slumty, Logan's and Blair's batteries 
were also briskly shelling the rebel works on the hill. 

Hooker, having repulsed them at Lost Mountain, was press- 



A NIGHT ATTACK. 121 

ing on their flank, while Schoficld was swinging round on their 
left, repul.sing their skirmishers, and capturing a number of 
prisoners. 

On the night of the 17th the rebels attacked our position. 
It was a beautiful night. The soft moonlight, beaming from 
the clear southern sky, floated through the ibrest trees, lighting 
them up with a bewitching charm of beauty. 

The air was calm and balmy, the sky without a cloud ; fire- 
flies, sparkling like diamonds, were flitting around. The cry of 
the whippoorwill resounded through the forest ; and the croak- 
ing of the toads rose from the marshes like the tinkling of 
sleigh bells. Houses that had been burned were yet shooting 
forth their columns of fire and smoke. 

Such was the night ! — a grand and solemn night ! Soon a 
dropping shot along the line awoke the wearied soldier as he 
lay on his rude couch. " It is nothing," he said, and lay down 
to sleep again, only for a moment, for a rapid musketry fire 
ensued, and the wearied soldier opened his eyes and jumped to 
his arms, for he knew it was a night attack. Our batteries 
soon opened, hurling shell and canister into the rebel works. 

The rebels had made a strong attack on McPherson's left, 
where they vainly strove to regain their lost position, but were 
repulsed by Logan's 15th corps. 

The rebels were foiled in their night attack at all points, and 
the horrid din of battle soon gave way to a placid stillness. 
The toads resumed their music in the marsh, and the whippoor- 
will his in the forest. The tired soldiers again lay down to 
rest, and dream of a home and fond ones they were never des- 
tined to see. 

Towards morning a sudden rain-storm burst over us in a per- 
fect deluge. The maxim " When it rains it pours," is very ap- 
plicable to the south. Next morning the country was one 
miserable swamp of slushy mire and water. 

The rebels had fallen back and abandoned their front line of 

works. General Howard ordered his whole line to follow them 

up sharply. General Harker's brigade led the advance, and 

having come up with the enemy, and being reenforced by Wag- 

11 



122 Sherman's march through the south. 

ner's brigade, they charged forward, driving them from their 
first line of works. 

As we charged on the rebel skirmishers, they fled precipitately 
back on their intrenchments. A southern Charlotte Corday, a 
modern Joan of Arc, jumped upon the breastworks, waved a 
sword, and fiercely upbraided them with cowardice. There she 
stood, defiantly waving a flag in one hand and a sword in the 
other. Of course our men could have shot her down, but no 
rifle was turned on the Amazon. Her reproaches drove many 
a poor fellow back on our lines to certain death. 

The women of the south have much blood to answer for. 
Bitter and uncompromising, many a brother and lover their 
sneers and scoffs drove into the army never again to return. 

We thought the rebels were retreating, but they were only 
wheeling round their left to prevent it being outflanked by 
Schofield, who had wheeled round Pine Mountain, and was 
pressing along the Dallas and Marietta road. McPherson, 
too, was pressing closely on their right, and had taken posses- 
sion of a ridge beyond Big Shanty, and also of Bush Mountain. 
Thus threatened on the flanks, they had to refuse their centre 
and compress their lines, for Howard and Palmer were thun- 
dering at their centre. They could the more easily depress 
their lines, as they had good works in their rear, on which the 
citizens and negroes had been engaged for months. 

All their works along Kenesaw were of a formidable and 
scientific nature, strengthened by salient and traverse lines and 
angles. From such positions, seemingly impregnable, have we 
driven them since the opening of the campaign, day after day 
and week after week. 

Our skirmishers pressed on, and having developed their new 
position, Newton's division on the left and Wood's famed 
division on the right were thrown into line of battle, with 
Stanley's division, to the rear of Wood's, held partly in reserve. 

The 5th Kentucky, 6th Indiana, and 124th Ohio, Hazen's 
brigade, and 32d Indiana and 25th Illinois, of Colonel Gibson's 
brigade, were thrown forward in a heavy line of skirmishers by 
General Wood. 



AN ARTILLERY DUEL. 123 

On their left, Wagner's brigade and the 27th Illinois, of Bark- 
er's brigade, were also deployed, and with one gallant, united 
effort they succeeded in capturing the enemy's first line of works. 

Towards evening Captain Goodspeed's battery of five guns, 
and Bridge's 6th Ohio battery, with sections from Bradley's and 
Spencer's, opened a raking fire on the enemy, which was en- 
forced by a continuous fire of musketry from our skirmishers. 
The rebel line, unable to withstand this concentrated fire, fell 
back, leaving a large number of prisoners in our hands, also 
Colonel Perdieux, 1st Louisiana battalion, and another colonel, 
belonging to the 7th Mississippi, dead. 

Their loss must have been very heavy. Captain Levy, who 
was captured with his whole company, stated that his regiment 
alone lost nearly eighty men. 

Our loss was pretty considerable. The 4th corps alone cap- 
tured two hundred and twenty-seven prisoners ; Wood's noble 
division capturing one hundred and ten of them. 

At night the rebels fell still farther back to their works on 
Kenesaw Hill. 

We now occupied the house of a Mr. Wallace, on the Ma- 
rietta road, from which we had a fine view of the enemy along 
the slope of Kenesaw. Generals Sherman, Thomas, Hooker, 
Howard, and several others, had congregated here to watch the 
effect of our batteries on the enemy's works. 

The house and offices were used as a hospital, and military 
operations were going on in the rear while the doctors were 
busy amputating inside ; one party making cases for the oth- 
er. Captains Goodspeed and Bradley got their batteries into 
position ; these, with Bridge's in front of Stanley's division, 
opened all together on the rebel works, making the hill- 
side a pretty hot place. The rebels soon replied with two 
batteries from the slope and a section of heavy guns from the 
crest. 

A regular artillery duel now ensued. The intervening valley 
was one dense cloud of smoke, which rose in floating canopies 
over the mountain. 

We could see the sheets of flame, followed by volumes of 



124 Sherman's march through the south. 

smoke, jump out from the mouths of the brazen monsters, and 
the loud, reverberating sounds echoed along the mountains and 
valleys. 

An assault was now taking place ; this heavy artillery fire 
was merely to cover it. 

Stanley was charging the enemy in his front, while Wood 
and Newton were hotly engaged on his right. The 20th corps 
had by this time succeeded in crossing Noe's Creek, which had 
been very much swollen by the late rains. Williams's division 
had crossed, and was stubbornly engaged on the right. Palm- 
er's and Mcpherson's batteries were thundering away on our 
left, while far away on our right the 23d corps was disputing 
the passage of the swollen stream with the enemy. Early on 
the morning of the 20th Wood's division, 4th corps, crossed the 
creek and relieved Williams, who swung round to the right of 
the 20th corps, thus connecting Geary's division with the 4th 
corps. A slight tongue-like ridge ran out in front of Wood's 
division, which presented a first-rate position for a battery. 
The 49th Ohio advanced along this hill, driving back the ene- 
my. Two guns were immediately dragged forward, and, under 
the superintendence of General Wood himself, and his truly 
chivalric adjutant general. Captain Bestow, were put into po- 
sition and brought to bear on the enemy. Stanley was heavily 
engaged skirmishing all day ; and towards evening our bat- 
teries all along the front opened again on the enemy's guns 
upon the hill, which were becoming troublesome. 

Some fifty guns on both sides were belching away with all 
their might and main within the short range of less than a 
mile. We could see the shot and shell whizzing through the 
air like so many imps of hell on their unhallowed mission, the 
trees toppling over, and the rocks and dirt in front of the rebel 
batteries flying up in the air. 

The infernal din was increased by the incessant rattling of 
musketry along the lines. 

The rebels, finding that we were closing in on their flank, had 
massed in the centre, with the desperate resolution of piercing 
through the 4th corps. 



OBSTINATE FIGHTING. 125 

We learned from deserters that part of Hood's and Hardee's 
corps had been massed in the centre with that intention. Under 
shelter of the heaviest artillery fire, the rebels charged in massed 
columns on Stanley's front. 

Whittaker's brigade nobly met the attack, and repulsed them 
with loss. They next tried their hand on Kirby's, where they 
also met a stubborn resistance ; but after a fierce conflict of 
nearly one hour, they gained some temporary advantage, and 
took possession of a prominent knoll in our front. Cross's and 
Whittaker's brigades again pitched into them, and a most 
bloody conflict continued until after dark, with little success 
on either side. Our position at night was thus : Wood's and 
Newton's divisions had somewhat advanced, but Stanley's di- 
vision, having had to bear the brunt of the day's fighting, had 
barely kept its own. Stanley was hard pressed all the afternoon, 
and as he was over the creek and poorly supported, great anx- 
iety was felt about him ; but he kept his position until reen- 
forced, and then a ringing cheer along his lines apprised us that 
he was all right. 

Early on the morning of the 21st Wood's division moved 
forward to recover the height occupied by the rebels the pre- 
vious day. Wood threw forward the 15th Ohio, which pressed 
on the enemy, taking possession of the hill before the others 
had come to their support. With it they captured a large 
number of prisoners. 

The fighting for the past three days had been very severe. 
The air was hideous with one continuous roar of musketry and 
artillery. Hooker and Schofield were pressing the enemy well 
on our right ; the latter had succeeded in crossing some of his 
cavalry over Noe's Creek, thus threatening to turn the enemy's 
left. By this time our lines were within five hundred yards of 
the enemy at some points, and our flanks were partly encir- 
cling them. 

The fighting in front of General T. I. Wood's division, 
4th corps, had 'been very severe. The 15th Ohio, under Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Askew, and the 49th Ohio, engaged a superior 
force on the contested hill, routed them, and soon established 
11* 



126 Sherman's march through the south. 

themselves in their place, though eight rebel guns were all 
the tirflc vomiting shot and shell on their advance. General 
Hazen's brigade and the 89th Illinois relieved them, repulsing 
the enemy still farther. Howard was confronted by Cheatham's 
troops. 

I have stated elsewhere that Johnston had sent his cavalry 
to harass our rear, and that they had succeeded in tapping the 
road between Kingston and Resaca. This attempt was much 
exaggerated, and the rebel leaders made the most of it. 

While in front of Kenesaw, Johnston issued a complimentary 
address to his troops, and, as good news, stated that the railroad 
was torn up, our supplies cut off, and our army starving, in 
fact, on half rations for several days. 

This order was being read to the troops, and was about re- 
ceiving a due amount of cheers and huzzas, when all stopped, 
with their hats in their hands, ready to give the cheer ; they 
listened a moment, and looked towards Big Shanty. What 
could that shrill loud whistle, and that puffing and blowing, 
mean? It was the engine, and it seemed to be considerably 
excited at all the lies the general was telling about it. The 
men listened a moment, looked at one another, uttered hard 
names, and slunk back to their quarters, while one loud, ring- 
ing cheer from our lines proclaimed that the boys were not 
starving, despite Johnston's assertion. 

Captain L. II. Levey, 1st Georgia, and sixty men, were cap- 
tured by our pickets. I asked the captain, " Don't you think 
your cause hopeless ? " 

" There are," replied the chivalrous captain, " about one 
hundred thousand high-toned, chivalric southern gentlemen 
whom ye may extirpate, but can never subdue." 

This sounded very fine ; but to spoil the chivalry of the thing, 
it turned out that the captain and his men were surprised on 
the picket line and captured by a sergeant and seven men, who 
frightened them into submission by pretending to have a whole 
regiment at their back. 

What forcibly struck us as we marched through the south was, 
how fully impressed the people were with the notion that the 



SOUTHERN IGNORANCE OF THE NORTH. 127 

Yankees were savages, some believed cannibals. This belief 
was not confined to the poorer classes either ; so corrupted were 
the minds of even the wealthier portions that they had not a 
much better opinion of us. They fully believed that we were 
coming wantonly to violate, destroy, or enslave them. On our 
approach women and children fled in terror into the woods and 
other places of concealment. If all the menageries and lunatic 
asylums north, including the late Barnum's itself, were let loose 
upon them, they could not be more afraid. By degrees they 
ventured out, and became wonderfully relieved when they found 
that we did not eat any of them. I heard an old lady, with 
scarcely a tooth in her head, and shaking with fear and age, 
say, " Well, well, the Lord be praised ; you'ns not so bad after 
all ; the girls all ran away, afraid of you'ns fellows, but I 
thought I'd stay ; and there, not one of you'ns have touched me 
yet!" 

I went into a shanty where an old lady was sitting at one 
side of the fire, comfortably enjoying a puff from a soldier's 
pipe, and discussing the war question with the soldier, who 
occupied the other side. 

" And you tell me you'ns fellers have plenty backer, and 
coffee, and snuff? " 

"Plenty, ma'am, more than we can use." 

" Dear me ! we'ns are badly off; haven't coffee, nor backer, 
nor snuff. I wish this war was over ; when do you reckon it 
will stop?" 

" Can't say ; as soon as they stop fighting, or when we have 
them all killed." 

" Well, there is an almighty lot of ye critters in it ; I know 
ye'll eat them up ; besides, you'ns fellows don't fight we'ns 
fair." 

" How so?" said the soldier. 

"Why, you'ns fight ind ways, and that's not fair," said the 
old lady, drawing a very indignant puff from the pipe ; " besides, 
you'ns have furruners fightin' for you'ns." 

" Not that I know ; we are all either Americans or Ameri- 
can citizens." 



128 Sherman's march through the south. 

"0, yoii'ns can't come over me dat way; wasn't them fel- 
lers here to-day from a place called New Jersey ? " 

It is sad to witness the fearful sufferings of the people, par- 
ticularly the women and children, in those parts of Georgia 
through which we have campaigned. As for the men, we 
met but few indeed. All that were able to fight were con- 
scripted ; the rest were hid in the woods or caves ; some few 
had the good sense to remain at home, and trust to the humanity 
of the Yankee soldier. I am sorry to say that our men often 
wantonly burned down the houses, destroyed their contents, 
and drove forth their wretched inmates, houseless, homeless, 
starving outcasts, to perish of cold and hunger. It is true that 
such acts were not sanctioned, but stragglers and hangers-on, 
who bring up the rear of a large army, destroy everything, 
like a swarm of locusts, particularly when they find a place 
deserted. 

I have met, in more cases than those I have already alluded 
to, frenzied groups of affrighted, starving women and children 
huddled together in the woods, where many of them perished 
of cold and want. 

Such sad pictures of old and young, gray-haired matrons and 
timid girls, clinging together in hopeless misery, may be im- 
agined, but cannot be described. I have seen whole columns 
of brave men melt away before the leaden storm of battle ; I 
have passed through the whirlwind and carnage of many a 
bloody field ; I have heard the groans of fearful agony from 
the poor sufferers under the surgeon's knife, where piles of legs 
and arms — the grim trophies of war — attested death's fearful 
harvest. Yet all these did not move me as did the sight of 
these poor, innocent, helpless miserahles. 

The morning of the 22d of June opened with brisk skirmish- 
ing on our centre, which continued all day, but became hotter 
towards evening. About 4 o'clock our batteries opened on the 
rebel works all along the range, to which the enemy vigorously 
replied. Battery after battery opened, until it became a perfect 
storm of shot and shell, enlivened by the stirring interlude of 
small arms. 



BATTLE OF CULP's FARM. 129 

About 4 o'clock the enemy commenced massing in front of 
Hooker, with the evident intention of attacking him. 

The position of Sherman's army was — Schofield was on the 
extreme right, moving down the Landtown road ; Hooker was 
on his left, commanding the Marietta road ; Howard on the left 
of Hooker ; Palmer next ; next came McPherson, extending in 
front of Big Shanty and Bush Mountain, on the line of rail- 
road. On the evening of the 21st, Hooker ordered Geary to 
advance his skirmish line, and press back the enemy's, which 
he accomplished, though the rebels obstinately disputed a com- 
manding hill in his front. 

Gulp's farm is situated on the Powder Springs and Marietta 
main road, and about five miles in a westerly direction from 
Marietta. Contiguous to it are a handsome frame church, a 
school-house, planters' establishments, including several negro 
shanties, all of which give it something of the appearance of 
a small village. 4i 

Extending from this, partly in a northern direction, is a valley 
of reclaimed land, reaching some three miles in length and 
half a mile in width. This comprises Gulp's plantation, also 
the plantation of a Mr. Greer, whose house is situated in the 
middle of the valley, and was an important point of attack 
during the engagement. 

The land is rising on both sides, and is compressed in the 
middle with a small, sluggish stream, fringed with trees ; run- 
ning at right angles with this stream is a deep ravine, with a 
few thickly-wooded knolls scattered over the valley. This was 
the field of the battle of Gulp's farm. 

Hooker, having ascertained that the enemy were in force in 
his front, ordered General Williams to throw out a heavy line 
of skirmishers to keep the enemy engaged while he was form- 
ing into line, and, if possible, to get possession of Greer's house 
and the surrounding knolls. 

Williams at once deployed the 123d New York, supported by 
the 46th Pennsylvania, 141st New York, and 5th Gonnecticut. 
These advanced rapidly across the plain, and soon became 
enoraored. Hooker had formed line with Williams's division 



130 Sherman's maech through the south. 

on the right, Rogers's brigade on the right, General Knipe's 
next, with Colonel Robinson's extending en echelon to the rear 
on the -right. Geary's division was to the left of Williams's, 
but separated by over two hundred yards on account of the 
ravine and the extended nature of the line. Colonel P. H. 
Jones's second brigade closed up on the ravine so as to fill up 
the gap. Butterfield's division was on the extreme left, held in 
reserve. 

Hood's corps was hastily forming in front of the wood on the 
other side. He had wheeled round the previous night from 
Kenesaw, thus leaving Loring's corps — Polk's — on their ex- 
treme right, and Hardee in the centre. 

Hood had formed into line of battle in the following order : 
Stewart on the right, Stevens in the centre, and Hindman on 
the left — all massed on the centre, and formed into lines by 
divisions front. 

Our artillery was hurried to the front, and hastily got into 
position. McGill's and Wheeler's batteries took up position in 
front of Geary's line, and opened an enfilading fire on the 
enemy. Captain Wheeler was killed beside his gun. Pinne- 
gar's first New York and Captain Woodberry's were in front 
of Williams's division. 

Hood's corps had now formed in front of Williams's position. 
Two brigades from Hardee's corps had taken up position in 
front of Geary's. Two regiments moved along Powder Spring 
road to turn Hooker's flank, he not being able to extend the 
line to cover the road. Hood's column was now advancing in 
magnificent order, as if on parade, with banners flying and 
officers dashing from line to line. On they came in grand 

array : — 

"Few shall part where many meet ; 
The earth shall be their winding-sheet." 

On came that proud column, with heavy lines of skirmish- 
ers in its front. Our skirmishers fell back, but obstinately 
disputing every inch in order to give our lines time to form, 
and our batteries to get into position. Colonel P. H. Jones, 
after a dashing brush with the enemy, now held Greer's^ house, 



DISCOMFITURE OP HOOD. 131 

from which the rebels vainly and repeatedly tried to dislodge 
him. As the column neared the stream, pressing back our 
skirmishers with defiant cheers, our batteries along the hill 
suddenly opened, vomiting shell and canister among them, 
sweeping lanes through their ranks, and converting many a 
cheer into a death-groan. 

This raking fire from our batteries was fearfully thinning 
their lines. 

Stewart's shattered ranks were now hurled back on Stevens's, 
who, for a moment, stemmed the torrent. 

We could see their officers rush before the men with wavino- 
sabres, striving to rally them, but in vain ; for our artillery and 
musketry were showering lead like hailstones right into their 
lines. After repeated assaults, the panic-stricken rebels, with 
broken ranks, riderless horses, and trailing banners, fell back to 
their works. 

While the conflict was raging in front of Hooker, the regi- 
ments which had gone up the road to outflank him, did not fare 
any better. 

Schofield, hearing the firing, and apprised of what was going 
on, hurried up. Hascall's division was in front, and the 14th 
Kentucky, covered by two pieces of artillery, were thrown out 
as skirmishers. They engaged the advancing regiments, and, 
after a stubborn fight, repulsed them, thus covering Hooker's 
right. 

The 14th Kentucky lost heavily, but left sixty-nine dead 
rebels in its front, and brought in thirty prisoners. 

Schofield's main body soon came up to their support. Of a 
small engagement, this was a crushing one. The rebel lines 
were so exposed that their loss must be about a thousand, 
while ours was very light. 

It was a mad attempt on Hood's part to attack at such a 
disadvantage. If we had the selection of our ground, it could 
not be more favorable. • 

It must be that Hood was under the impression that he was 
striking our right flank, and that Hooker was moving so care- 
lessly in column that he could outflank and crush him before he 



132 Sherman's march through the south. 

could get into line. His sending the troops up the road con- 
firmed this ; but Schofield arrived in time to spoil that part of 
the programme. 

I rode over that battle-field when the conflict was ended. 
Alonsc the little stream ran a rail fence. The rebels had 
crowded behind this for protection, but were literally mowed 
down. The torn, bloody knapsacks, haversacks, blankets, and 
the frequent pools of blood around, were ghastly evidences of 
how they suffered. The stream was actually choked up with 
bodies, and discolored with blood. In the ravine, and around 
the house where the rebels had crowded for shelter, their bodies 
lay piled on one another. 

On the 23d of June, the only fighting was in front of the 
4th corps, where heavy skirmishing went on all day, enlivened 
by an artillery fire from, at least, fifty guns. We had advanced 
our skirmish lines close upon the rebels. Captain Dalger's 
battery was threatened by the enemy. He was sent word that 
he could get no support. 

" I Avant none," he replied ; " I'll support myself." 

And he did so, soon silencing the rebel battery in his front. 

There was considerable activity in front of McPherson Huring 
the 25th and 26th. 

Our batteries, along the whole line, opened a brisk fire on the 
rebel position, and our skirmishers crept up, as close as possible, 
to the shelter occupied by the enemy. 

Logan formed Harrow's division on the extreme left, and 
moved cautiously on the enemy, covering his advance by a 
heavy artillery fire. Harrow's advance was so rapid and well- 
timed that he surrounded a rebel brigade lying in advance of the 
woods, who durst not leave their shelter, and were all captured, 
to the number of about three hundred. Logan also brought up 
Morgan L. Smith's division, and took up an advanced position, 
intrenching himself. Osterhaus also advanced by the left, 
driving the enemy from their rifle-pits in his front. Blair, 
whose corps lay between Osterhaus's division and the other 
two divisions of Logan's corps, advanced his right far enough 
to complete his line, connecting with Osterhaus's advanced 



ACTIVITY OF THE CORPS. 133 

position. Dodge, who occupied McPherson's right, had also 
pushed forward, and attempted at night to build a fort upon 
a hill in his front, which resulted in a night fight that did not 
prevent him from building his fort. 

Thus we had our lines so far advanced preparatory to the 
fatal assault of the 27th. 

General Sherman had decided on assaulting Kenesaw, with 
the resolution of forcing their breastworks, at a point where 
success would give the largest fruits of victory. 

He selected, as the chief point of attack, the left centre, 
because, if broken through, the head of the assaulting column 
would reach the railroad below Marietta, cut off the enemy's 
right and centre from its line of retreat, and could overwhelm it ; 
therefore General Sherman ordered an assault on the enemy's 
position at two points south of Kenesaw, by Generals McPher- 
sou and Thomas's commands. Precisely at eight o'clock, on 
the morning of the 27th, General Logan, after forming his corps 
into line of battle, advanced on the enemy's works, with orders 
to capture, if possible, a small knoll at the base of the moun- 
tain. Though advancing under a heavy fire of musketry and 
artillery, he succeeded in taking the first line of works, and 
then the second, which he occupied. 

On his left Legget's division, of Blair's corps, wheeled round 
to the extreme left, and, supported by Gerrard's cavalry, made 
demonstrations on the enemy's right, west of Marietta. This 
was simply a feint to cover the main attack. 

The 16th corps also made an attack on the enemy's lines in 
its front, without gaining much advantage. 

Logan's corps was pretty heavily engaged ; but finding that 
the mountain was too steep and the rebel intrenchments too 
strong for assault, after a desperate struggle, he had to fall 
back to the second line of works. 

The assault on the right centre was equally unsuccessful, and 
even more fatal. 

Early in the morning, Baird's and Davis's divisions of the 
14th corps, having quietly shifted during the night, moved in 
on the right of Howard. Geary's division, of the 20th corps, 
12 



134 Sherman's march through the south. 

had closed up on Davis, so as to engage the enemy at that 
point. Williams's and Butterfield's. divisions were on Geary's 
rights with Schofield swinging round on the rebels' extreme 
right. 

The progi'amme was this : Newton was to open the ball by 
an assault on a strong knoll west of Kenesaw, which was a 
powerful position in the hands of the enemy, and from which 
their artillery had considerably annoyed us. Stanley's and 
Wood's divisions were on the right and rear of Newton, some- 
what thrown back en echelon, but within supporting distance. 

Newton's division advanced in column by brigade, the 125th 
Ohio, Colonel Opdyke, covering the front as skirmishers, sup- 
ported by the 59th Illinois. 

Our lines had to advance through a dense wood, thence up a 
steep ascent. The enemy were strongly intrenched behind 
a breastwork, protected by an abatis. 

Barker's brigade had the advance, Kemball's on his left, and 
Wagner supporting. 

The 125th Ohio, 74th Illinois, skirmished heavily with the 
enemy for some time, driving them back on their main lines, 
but were there received by a destructive fire of musketry. Our 
lines followed up to their support, when two batteries opened on 
our front and flank, aided by a shower of musketry in front. 
Barker's men cheered, and dashed on ; but a decimating shower 
of bullets caused them to waver. Our officers rushed forward 
to cheer them on ; but from concealed batteries and secure 
breastworks the leaden storm came mowing them down by 
scores. Our batteries were playing on the enemy's, but regard- 
less of this, the rebels gave all their attention to our advancing 
columns, which soon gave way, and fell back in confusion. 
General Harker led this charge in person. With his cap in his 
raised hand, he cheered on his men ; and seeing them falter, he 
rushed to the front, but soon fell shot through the side. Beside 
him stood his adjutant general, Captain Ed. G. Whiteside, 
who, though shot through the thigh, still urged on the men, 
until his horse was shot under him, and he fell beside his noble 
general. 



LOSS OF GALLANT OFFICERS. 135 

There were few more promising generals in the army than 
Charles G. Harker. He was a native of Mulligan Hill, New 
Jersey, and a graduate of West Point, and captain in the 15th 
regulars. He distinguished himself at Chickamauga, where he 
had his horse killed, and was rewarded by a brigadiership. He 
was again wounded at Resaca, and had a horse killed under 
him, also, at Mission Ridge. He was a brave, dashing soldier 
and efficient officer, and was always foremost where duty and 
danger called him. He fell in the prime of manhood, being but 
twenty-seven years of age, but left after him a name that history 
will record with pride. 

Davis's division, 14th corps, was also heavily engaged on the 
right of Newton, but was also repulsed. Geary's division, 
20th corps, and Schofield's corps, were also engaged on our right. 

We were repulsed on all sides. Our loss was heavy in field 
officers and men. Besides the gallant General Harker, Colonel 
McCook, created general before he died, was mortally wound- 
ed ; Colonel Rice, 57th Ohio, severely. Our loss in rank and 
file must be between two and three thousand ; while the enemy's 
must be very slight, as they fought behind their works. 

I spent the evening previous with the noble young Harker. 

" So, general," said I, " you are to lead the advance to- 
morrow ? " 

" Yes," said he, " I lead it, whoever returns." 

" I hope, general, your usual good fortune will attend you, 
and that you will return safe." 

" Well, I hope so ; a soldier should be always prepared to 
die, though ; " then after a pause he said, " They are powerful 
works ; we can never take them ; I will do my best, though." 

I saw him when he fell. It was a matter of surprise to me 
that he escaped so long ; for there he was, at the head of the 
line, cap in hand, rallying the troops, who were falling on all 
sides around him. 

I helped to remove him from the field, and asked him, "Gen- 
eral, do you suffisr? Where are you struck?" 

He placed his hg,nd on his side ; the pallor of death was on 
his brow. A few hours more and he had breathed his last. 



136 Sherman's march through the south. 

As Harker's brigade wavered in front of the rebel works, 
the colors were lying on the ground, — bearer after bearer had 
fallen, — when an Irish sergeant of the name of Kelly rushed 
forward, seized the colors, tore away the abatis with his left 
hand, jumped on the rebel works, planting the colors there, and 
calling on his comrades to follow him. He was immediately 
transfixed with bayonets and pierced with bullets. Finding 
himself not supported, he jumped backwards, flung the colors 
over his shoulders into the lines, calling out, "Boys, save the 
colors ! " and then fell dead. 

Next day General Johnston sent a flag of truce to Sherman, 
in order to give time to carry off the wounded and bury the 
dead, who were festering in front of their lines. 

A truce foUoAved, and Rebels and Federals freely participated 
in the work of charity. It was a strange sight to see friends, 
to see old acquaintances, and in some instances brothers, who 
had been separated for years, and now pitted in deadly hostility, 
meet and have a good talk over old times, and home scenes, 
and connections. They drank together, smoked together, ap- 
peared on the best possible terms, though the next day they 
were sure to meet in deadly conflict again. 

Even some of the generals freely mixed with the men, and 
seemed to view the painful sight with melancholy interest. 

I saw Pat Cleburne, with that tall, meagre frame, and that 
ugly scar across his lank, gloomy face, stand with a thoughtful 
air, looking on the work his division had done ; for it was his 
troops that defended the line of works in the centre, and com- 
mitted such fearful havoc on Newton's and Davis's divisions. 
He looked a fit type of the lean Cassius. He was certainly to 
the western army what Stonewall Jackson was to the eastern ; 
and when he fell at Franklin, Hood's army had lost its ruling 
spirit. 

An officer, speaking of this sad burial, said, " I witnessed a 
strange scene yesterday in front of Davis's division. During 
the burial of the dead, grouped together in seemingly fraternal 
unity, were officers and men of both contending armies, who, 
but five minutes before, were engaged in the work of slaughter 
and death. 



INTERVIEWS UNDER FLAG OF TRUCE. 137 

There were Generals Cleburne, Cheatham, Hindman, and 
Money, in busy converse with a group of Federal officers, mostly 
Tennessee officers, whom they had formerly known. Cheatham 
looked rugged and healthy, though seemingly sad and despond- 
ent. He wore his fatigue dress — a blue jflannel shirt, black 
neck-tie, gray homespun pantaloons, and slouched, black hat. 
At first he was very taciturn ; but this wearing off, he made 
inquiries about old friends, particularly about those from 
Nashville. 

General Mooney was less reserved. He was elegantly dressed, 
as were also several other officers, who looked as if they wanted 
to cut a shine on the occasion. 

Captain Lee, from Columbia, broke the ice by asking Captain 
Nixon, 14th Michigan, "Do you belong to Mizner's regiment 
for some time stationed at Franklin and Columbia ? " 

"Yes, sir; I do." 

" Then you are the man who was provost marshal? " 

" Yes, sir." 

" It is well for you that we didn't get possession of that place 
and you. I would have hung you ! " 

" No, you wouldn't," interposed a red-haired, red-eyed major, 
— Hawkins, — formerly deputy sheriff of Nashville, "for the 
boys say their folks were better treated by these Michigan men . 
than by any troops ever stationed there." 

" That's so," said Major Vaulse, of Cheatham's staff; " boys, 
you have better whiskey than we have got ; " and the major 
tried the ardent. 

Colonel House was in charge of the burying party, and was 
courteous and affable. 

Under the shelter of a pine, I noticed a huge gray Kentuckian 
rebel, with his arm affectionately placed around the neck of a 
Federal soldier, a mere boy. The bronzed warrior cried and 
laughed by turns, and then kissed the young Federal* 

Attracted by such a strange proceeding, I went over to them, 
and said to the veteran, " Why, you seem very much taken by 
that boy ; I suppose he is some old friend of yours.'* 

" Old friend, sir ! Why, he is my son i " 
12* 



138 Sherman's march through the south. 

" Your son? Good God ! how did it happen that you have 
taken different sides ? " 

" Well, sir, you see, like many other fools, I was carried 
away by darn stories, at first. I was told this thing would be 
over in a few weeks, and then we'd have a free country, and all 
that 'ere stuff. Well, I'm darned if I believed a word of it ; but 
then I had to join or kick the bucket, like more of my neigh- 
bors." 

"And your son?" 

" Well, he had a kinder likin' for home ; but the d — d guer- 
rillas took everything his poor mother had ; so he joined you, 
and is trying to support the old woman with his pay, and I fightin' 
agin' him ! " 

The strong man bent his head on his hands and sobbed. 

" Don't, father, don't ! " said the boy, kissing him ; " I guess it 
will be all over soon." 

" I hope so ; I hope so, boy. We're fightin' agin' one an- 
other!" 

I have often witnessed scenes equally as sad and equally as 
expressive of the horrors of a civil war, where father sheds the 
blood of his son, and brother that of his brother. 

Though I could fill volumes with tales of our pickets, and the 
battle-field, I think the following was about as amusing a one 
as I have witnessed. 

While squads on both sides were engaged burying the dead, 
two Irishmen met, who were old friends in the good days of 
peace and union. 

" Musha, God bliss my soul ! Jem Gleeson, is this you?" 
said the rebel Irishman, dropping a body which he was drag- 
ging by the leg to the pit for burial, and giving the other a hug 
that might do credit to a bear. 

" Arrah, whisth ! is this yourself at all?" was Jem's reply, 
returning the embrace with equal fraternity. 

" By gor', it is my four bones ; but how the divil did you get 
here? I thought you were safe an' sound in the ' ould dart.'" 

" In truth, I wish I was, Ned. Sure I don't know the day 
I will go to some other dart. And you, my ould friend, may 



A COMICAL SCENE. 139 

be the one will send me there wid an ounce of lead in my 
sthomach." 

" Be gor*, that's too bad. If you could only call to me, I'd 
shoot some other one in your place. But tell me, how did you 
come here at all ? " 

" Arrah, shure I came over the say ; and then such a lot of 
frinds as I met in New York, every one persuading me I'd 
make my fortune and become a gineral if I joined the army ; 
and shure I thought they ought to know best ; so I took their 
advice." 

Jem, seeing a canteen hanging by Ned's side, after exhausting 
their mutual embraces, asked, '^ Have you got a drop of the 
cretur' there ? " 

" Faix, in troth, I have ; come over here beyond." 

And they went and sat under a shady tree, where they had 
another big shake-hands and a big talk about old times. They 
drank one another's health, a health to absent friends, including 
the " ould dart.'* 

They had quite a jollification of it ; so much so that they were 
oblivious of the fact that the troops had fallen back to their 
respective lines. 

After a time they. were seen to issue, arm in arm, from the 
tree, both proceeding to our lines. 

Ned's friends called out to him " to come back, or else they'd 
fire on him.'* 

"Arrah, hould your tongues," said Ned, waving his hat at 
them ; " shure I must see my friend home, and then I'll go 
back." 

When they approached our lines they stopped to have a part- 
ing chat and a dur a durish ; and the best thing we heard was, 
" Ned," from our man, " go home, now, and God purtect you ; 
go like a good fellow (hie, hie, hie), and shure I have nothing 
bad to say to ould Davis ; the divil isn't as bad as he is 
painted ! " (hie, hie, hie.) 

" That's thrue, Jem, I will ; but come wid me ; the boys will 
be glad to see you (hie, hie, hie), and we'll (hie) get another 
canteen (hie, hie). Come, Jem, let us go home " (hie, hie, hie). 



140 Sherman's march through the south. 

Ned and Jem looked at one another, then nodded, then shook 
hands, and were parting, when our man turns back, and calls 
out, "I say, have the boys a dhrop below?" 

"Faix, in troth they have; and if you come down, I'll 
drink ould Abe's health wid you ! " 

This was too much for the other ; he couldn't refuse so hon- 
ored a toast ; so he was actually staggering back to join him, 
when some of the men interfered, and sent each to his respect 
tive command. 



KENESAW MOUNTAIN. 141 



CHAPTER XIII. 

KENESAW. — CROS SING THE CHATTAHOOCHEE. - SHERMAN OUT- 
WITS AND OUTFLANKS JOHNSTON. — FIRST SIGHT OF ATLAN- 
TA.— CRUELTY OF THE SLAVE DEALERS. — THE STORY OF THE 
NEGRO OSTIN. 

Kenesaw Mountain, which will be the Waterloo of the 
future tourist, and whose sides and valleys are one vast cem- 
etery of patriots, is made up of two high peaks, which almost 
connect at their summits, and are about nine hundred feet high. 
Looking at them from our lines beneath them, they have the 
appearance of two immense mounds, surrounded at the base by 
smaller ones, separated by fertile little valleys well adapted 
to cultivation. The outline of the mountain rather curves on the 
eastern side, describing a kind of half circle, thence sloping 
toward the west, where it loses itself abruptly in a small valley. 
The base of the mountain is about five miles from east to west, 
and about a mile in width. Its sides are covered with thick for- 
ests, brushwood, projecting rocks, and huge bowlders. The rebel 
works around it were of the most elaborate kind, being all 
protected by their high position, stakes, abatis, and cJievaux de 
frise in front, while traverse and salient lines shot out from their 
main works. These lines of defence extended as far as the 
summit, upon which were several batteries with guns located at 
all commanding points, and sharpshooters ensconced behind 
rocks, trees, and rifle-pits. It was impossible to take such a 
position by assault. 

Sherman did not remain long idle to muse over his repulses. 
Finding the position too formidable to be taken by direct assault, 
he resolved to outflank it. Owing to the hilly nature of the 
country and the great distance from the river, this was not prac- 
ticable on our left. Ten days' rations were issued, and on 



142 Sherman's march through the south. 

the night of the 1st and 2d of July, our troops cautiously 
changed positions. MePherson wheeled round on the extreme 
right towards JSTickajack ; Gerrard's cavalry took McPherson's 
place around Big Shanty and the eastern slope of Kenesaw. 
Schofield was also threatening this point, while Stoneman's 
cavalry were pressing on Turner's Ferry on the Chattahoo- 
chee. The effect of this move was instantaneous. Johnston 
could not suffer us to cross the Chattahoochee, and thus head him 
off from Atlanta ; so on the night of the 2d he evacuated Ken- 
esaw. We captured a large number of prisoners around Kene- 
saw, in all over two thousand. After Johnston's retreat, we 
found several officers and men asleep. The 4th corps alone 
captured three hundred, making in all, since the opening of the 
campaign, for this one corps alone, thirteen hundred and sixty- 
five prisoners. General Ilazen's brigade captured a number 
belonging to the 1st Georgian. Several of them came in vol- 
untarily, particularly the Irish and Germans. The 1st Geor- 
gian men stated that their regiment started nine hundred and 
thirty-seven strong, and were now reduced by desertions and 
the casualties of Avar to three hundred and thirteen. In fact, 
the drain on Johnston's army had considerably reduced it, while 
ours was made good by recruits. When we consider that we 
had taken about eight thousand since the opening of the cam- 
paign, and how Johnston had been decimated by battle, desertion, 
and sickness, it is evident that it was no longer the proud, 
boasting army that confronted us at Kenesaw. 

The army moved rapidly in pursuit. The 4th and 14th, with 
two divisions of the 15th corps, followed up the centre towards 
Marietta, the other columns moving on the right and left. We 
struck Marietta about 8 o'clock in the morning, the enemy rap- 
idly falling back in our front, making no fight, but keeping up 
some skirmishing just to cover their rear. A provost guard 
was immediately detailed to protect the town from plunder. 
General Thomas came upon a chaplain, a hospital steward, and 
some darkies pillaging a house, and at once placed the ill assort- 
ed lot under arrest. Most of the inhabitants had fled, carrying 
everything of value with them. Others, finding that the Yan- 

■I 



MARIETTA. 143 

kee barbarians were not going to destroy them, returned and 
mixed with the soldiers. In the centre of the town is a splendid 
hotel, which Sherman occupied as his temporary headquarters. 
The military college, the court-house, the churches and private 
buildings, were all spacious and of a most interesting nature. 

Marietta was considered one of the prettiest and healthiest 
towns in Cherokee Georgia. It is situated on an elevated plain, 
and is twenty miles from Atlanta by the railroad. It has some 
very good private and public buildings, is well laid out with good 
spacious streets shaded by trees. The Military Academy, which 
is situated on an elevation overlooking the town, is a very fine 
building, and is well located, both as regards the health of the 
pupils and the grounds for amusement and exercise. I am in- 
formed that General Sherman was at one time professor in this 
institute. How little did he imagine then, when instructing his 
pupils in tactics and manoeuvres, the building of forts, tangents, 
intrenchments, and the like, that he would one day define these 
lessons by practice around this very out of the way little town 
in Northern Georgia. "We found a good many of the houses 
deserted. The terrible name and reputation of the Yankee had 
scared the inhabitants. Those who remained appeared so terri- 
fied that it was painful to witness their looks. This soon wore 
off, and they freely mixed with the soldiers, trading little arti- 
cles of barter, and talking over the stirring events transpiring 
around them. Before we were an hour in the town, you would 
see some wearied soldier sitting on a piazza with his rifle resting 
between his knees, and he entertaining a group of interested 
women and children with his adventures and campaigns. Be- 
side him is a bowl of milk, from which he occasionally quaffs a 
deep draught by way of parenthesis. On a more fashionable 
piazza, in front of a more fashionable house, some officers gayly 
lounge. The young ladies of the house, rather tastefully dressed, 
considering that the war has shut them in from the fashionable 
world, think they have a right to enjoy their own piazza ; and 
of course the officers pay all due attention to them, and they are 
so surprised to find Yankee officers courteous at all, that they 
enjoy the thing, soon get into good humor, and evidently become 



144 Sherman's march through the south. 

converts to the Union, at least to a man. Marietta had a pop- 
ulation of about five thousand. It had also four churches, 
several hotels, schools, and stores, and was fast becoming one of 
the most attractive and stirring towns in Georgia. From the 
many advantages it possesses in climate, soil, and location, it is 
destined to become a very important place. 

When falling back, the rebels tore away the rails of some two 
miles of the railroad between Big Shanty and Marietta, thus 
retarding the advance of our trains. 

The column halted, and rested for a few hours in Marietta, 
for the day was intensely hot. We then resumed our march. 
About three miles from Marietta, near Neal Dow Station, the 
rebels made a stand in order to cover their rear, which was 
badly pressed. Stanly's division, of the 4th corps, threw out 
a heavy line of skirmishers, and also moved forward to the 
front four pieces of artillery. Newton's division came up on 
Stanly's left, and Wood on his extreme left. Some brisk mus- 
ket and artillery firing followed. The programme was, that 
Schofield and McPherson were to attack on the right, while 
Thomas Avas to make a demonstration to direct the attention 
of the rebels from them while crossing Nickajack Creek, which 
they were ordered to do at all hazards. Howard had so disposed 
his troops as to be ready to assault the rebel advance work in 
the morning, and therefore kept his artillery shelling them all 
night. 

The morning of the 5th opened with brisk firing on both 
sides, and about 11 o'clock the cannonading became furious. 
Under cover of this, Stanly's division, 4tli corps, in conjunction 
with King's division, 14th corps, made a dashing assault and 
succeeded in capturing the enemy's works. The rebels brought 
up reenforcements from their main line, which were also re- 
pulsed. Wood's and Newton's divisions had now come up to 
Stanly's support, and the rebels fell back. In this conflict, 
Stanly and King lost about three hundred, among them. Colonel 
William Stoughton, 11th Michigan, mortally wounded. Scho- 
field had met but little opposition in his front. He repulsed the 
skirmish line thrown out to check his advance, and captured sev- 



CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER. 145 

eral prisoners. McPlierson's column struck the enemy near 
Nickajack Creek, and after a sharp engagement, routed them. 

It was evident that Johnston only wanted time to get his 
trains over the Chattahoochee, as also to take possession of the 
strong line of works between Vining Station and the railroad 
bridge across the Chattahoochee. Next morning we resumed 
our march, the 4th and 14th corps moving parallel, the former 
along the line of railroad, the latter on the road contiguous. 
Wood's division, 4th corps, had the advance, and again encoun- 
tered the enemy near Vining Station. Hazen's brigade dashed 
bravely forward, driving their skirmishers in confusion across 
the river. The rebels barely had time to cut loose the pontoon 
and let it swing down the river, so closely was Hazen on their 
heels. 

The Chattahoochee River is one of the largest and most im- 
portant in the State of Georgia. Its head springs, and those of 
the Hiwassee, are in the Blue Ridge, towards the northern cor- 
ner of Habersham. It flows in partly a south-west direction, 
and after a course of near*four hundred miles, it unites with the 
Flint River, thus forming the Appalachicola. It is navigable to 
Columbus. It drains a large section of country. In some 
places, where the country is level, it is low and marshy ; in other 
places, where the lands are rolling, it is very rapid and pictur- 
esque. Gold has been found in considerable quantities in its 
bed, particularly towards its head waters. The water power 
of the Chattahoochee and its tributaries has been turned to 
practical use. We struck on several grist mills, saw mills, fac- 
tories, and tanneries, the most important of which was Roswell 
factory, at Roswell, on Vickery's Creek. The cavalry seized 
this while in full operation. It was employed making clothes 
for the rebel army, and was consequently destroyed. There 
were at the time about three hundred female operators em- 
ployed in it, and it was feeling to witness how they wept, as 
this, their only means of support, was consigned to destruc- 
tion. They were sent north, or wherever they chose. This 
factory worked over four thousand spindles, and was certainly 
the most important in this section of country. A little village 
13 



146 Sherman's march through the south. 

called Roswell was rapidly springing up about it, comprising 
several houses, a few stores, a churcli, and a female academy. 

The nature of the country around here is similar to that we 
have passed. The surface is broken and rolling, presenting 
some bold ridges and fertile valleys. The valleys of the Chat- 
tahoochee produce good cotton, corn, and wheat. The country 
around is thinly settled, except in some locations, where the nat- 
ural fertility of the laud has induced settlers to locate. Here 
little villages, or hamlets, spring up. Between Marietta and 
Atlanta is a vast section of country, with but a few houses 
scattered here and there. The forest yet blooms in all its 
wild luxuriance, as it did some hundred years ago, when it 
was the sacred hunting ground of the Indian, and resounded 
with the sound of the chase or the wild war-whoop. 

We occupied several important positions along the river. 
Gerrard's cavalry held the ford. He destroyed the factories 
which had supplied the rebel army with cloth. A French flag 
floated over one of these, but of course, under the circumstances, 
it was not respected. Speaking of the owner, Sherman says, 
" A neufral, surely, is no better than one of our own citizens, 
and we do not allow our own citizens to fabricate cloth for hos- 
tile uses." General Thomas's flank now rested on the river, 
near Pace's Ferry. General McPherson held the mouth 
of the Nickajack Creek. Gerrard's cavalry, with New- 
ton's division, of the 4th corps, held Roswell, while General 
Schofield moved from his position on the Landtown road on our 
right, to Smyrna camp ground, near the mouth of Soap Creek, 
on our left. Schofield seized Soap Creek Ferry, surprised the 
guards, and captured several prisoners, and took up a strong 
position on the east bank. So sudden and well-timed was Scho- 
field's move, that the rebels thought his troops were reenforce- 
ments coming to join them by way of Decatur. 

"I say, Yanks," they hallooed to our fellows across the river, 
" how do ye get along there ? " 

" Very well, thank you ; how do you get on? " 

" Fus rate ; won't ye come over to see us? We'll give ye a 
warm reception." 



JOHNSTON OUTFLANKED. 147 

" Well, the truth is, we have come a long ways to see you, and 
you show us nothing but your backs, which ain't very clean, 
either." 

" We'll show ye something else in a few days more ; we're 
waiting for reenforcements." 

" And where in God's name will yQU get them, unless you 
enlist the women ? " 

"Wouldn't you like to know, Mr. Yank? Well, wait a 
little." 

Deserters, too, told us that reenforcements were coming in. 
A little time after, they found their mistake, for Schofield had 
taken up a position commanding their right flank. 

The army of the Tennessee wheeled round from the extreme 
right to the extreme left, to follow in Schofield's track. Gen- 
eral Howard effected a crossing at Power's Ferry, and pontooned 
the river. We had, by the 9th, a large part of our army thrown 
across the Chattahoochee, above the enemy, and commanding 
the roads leading to Atlanta. Johnston had intrenched himself 
between Vining Station and the Chattahoochee Bridge. He also 
had advance intrenchments and forts guarding the road at 
Smyrna, with a tete du pont at the river. The river forms a 
deep curve here. Part of Johnston's army held these bends and 
the bridge, while the rest guarded the fords on the eastern side. 
There had been some heavy skirmishing during these move- 
ments, but nothing amounting to a fight. Wood's division, of 
the 4:th corps, moved down from Power's Ferry, along the bank 
of the river, and dislodged the force there guarding Pace's 
Ferry. A pontoon was immediately thrown across the river, 
and the 14th corps passed over in a few hours. McPherson had 
now left Johnston in quiet possession, and swung round to the 
left. Thus we had our main army trains, wagons, and supplies 
on the Atlanta side of the river, while Johnston was on the 
other side in fancied security. Finding that his flank was turned, 
and that Sherman was likely to strike direct for Atlanta, he has- 
tily crossed the bridge at night, destroying it after him. He had 
all his trains and wagons over before. The crossing of the 
Chattahoochee was one of Sherman's best movements. A less 



148 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

experienced general would be likely to press Johnston in his 
works. Sherman knew the strength of these too well, and also 
knew that by crossing far up on the left, and threatening a flaiik 
advance on Atlanta, Johnston would give up his position, and 
fall back to its relief. 

True, such movements would not break up Johnston's army, 
but it gave us a victory ; besides, Sherman and Johnston were 
watching each other's movements, like two expert wrestlers, to 
know who would make a slip, for they knew that to attack an 
intrenched position was likely to prove a defeat. 

The admirable way in which Sherman moved his army from 
right to left, as if it were a single brigade or division, con- 
founded Johnston. To-day Schofield and McPherson were 
threatening his left flank on the Sandtown road and Nickajack 
Creek ; to-morrow they are operating at Roswell and Soap 
Creek, several miles up, on his left ; and the first thing he 
heard was, that they had crossed, and were moving down on his 
flank, with the intention of cutting him off from Atlanta. So 
bold and rapid was this movement, that even Johnston himself 
was deceived by it, and looked upon the advancing column as a 
friendly one. 

Deserters and scouts informed us that the enemy were re- 
moving rolling stock and government property from Atlanta, and 
that the utmost panic and confusion reigned there. I am sure 
the roar of our cannon, as it thundered across the Chattahoochee, 
hurried their work, and made many a southern heart tremble. 
I can well fancy their feelings on the night of the 4th of July, 
as Johnston's couriers hurried to and fro, cheering the fear- 
stricken inhabitants with the news, that '' the Yankees are 
coming ; " and then came the booming of our cannons to con- 
firm it. It was a city of mourning, a city of tears and tribu- 
lation. 

General Howard had his headquarters at the house of a Mr. 
Pace, after whom the ferry was named. He was a wealthy 
planter, and had barely succeeded in getting himself and some 
thirty negroes across the river when we came up. Behind his 
house was a high hill, from the top of which Captain Morgan's 



STORY OP OSTIN. 149 

battery, 14th cavalry, was pelting away at the rebels beyond 
the river. 

From the summit of this hill we could plainly see the steeples 
and houses of Atlanta ; also the smoke from the founderies in 
the rear, and could almost look into the rebel intrenchments 
beyond. 

We met a striking sight on the top of this hill — the mummy 
skeleton of a soldier dangling from a tree, tied by a string of 
hickory bark. In his pocket was his descriptive list and five 
dollars in Confederate money. His name was T. B. Dunkin, 
of some Alabama regiment. It is likely that he was some 
unfortunate deserter, who hung himself. I hav« known men to 
shoot themselves sooner than go into battle. 

Several of the men said he was a negro ; he was certainly 
black enough to be one. Several other skeletons were discov- 
ered in the woods. It was almost impossible to know whether 
they were those of white or colored people. 

There is no doubt, when the negroes heard of the ap- 
proach of our army, they tried to make their escape to it, and 
such as were caught were shot or hung. The following story 
of the sufferings of a poor negro was too well authenticated for 
me to doubt its truth. I give the real names of the inhuman 
butchers in the tragedy. 

Near Nance's Creek, a few miles beyond the Chattahoochee, 
lived a planter named Tom House. Tom had some ne- 
groes, and traded in their flesh by selling them out to other 
planters. Among them was a very faithful hand, called Ostin, 
whom he rented out to a man near Atlanta. Ostin's master 
was a drunken brute, 'who ruled his slaves by kicks and flog- 
gings. Ostin, of course, came in for a liberal share of this 
treatment. 

One evening his master came home from Atlanta in one of 
his drunken fits ; he seemed to have a dislike for Ostin, for the 
poor negro's piety and rectitude of life were a kind of censure 
on him ; besides, Ostin, with that privilege given by good mas- 
ters to their slaves, spoke to massa on the evil of his ways. 

The overseer, finding that poor Ostin was in bad odor, re- 
13* 



150 SHERMAN'S MABCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

ported him as keeping the hands idle by singing psalms and 
the like. 

" Send him to me," said the drunken master, " and Til knock 
the d — 1 out of that fellow." 
• Poor Ostin humbly presented himself. 

" I say, you old scratch of a blasted nigger, why do you be 
keeping my hands idle ? Is it for that I hired you ? " 

" No, massa ; I neber keep de hands idle ; dis nigger work 
like a boss." 

" Didn't Shinton tell me that you are always shouting your 
blasted hymns among the hands ? " 

" "We only pray to the good Lord, massa, to lighten our work 
here, and den take us to glory." 

" Come, you old woolly skunk, did I buy you to pray or to 
work? Now, if I hear any more of your d — d stuff, I'll flog 
the skin off your old bones." 

" De Lor' says, massa, dat we can't deny him ; and dis ole 
nigger won't deny the Lor ; but dis poor nigger will work all 
he can." 

"Why follow out the conversation between the drunken white 
brute and the poor negro, whose faith was so firm in the " good 
Lor' ? " Ostin returned to his cabin, and when the day's work 
was over, was joined by his little congregation in a most pa- 
thetic hymn. 

His master chanced to be passing by, and rudely broke in on 
their innocent devotions, and most brutally kicked and abused 
Ostin. He then tied him to a pole, and flogged him himself. 
At night poor Ostin made his escape. He had a wife and child 
at a Mrs. Ballinger's, near Nance's Creek. Hither poor Ostin 
went. His wife opened her cabin door on hearing his well- 
known knock ; he was all covered with blood and wounds. 
The wife soon comprehended the matter, and clasped her hands 
in agony. 

"Don't feel bad, Chloe," said poor Ostin ; "massa drunk, 
don't know what he's do, an' de good Lor' tell us to forgive 
those that don't know what da do." 

" But he'll kill you — he bad man." 



STORY OF OSTIN. 151 

" No, Chloe," said Ostin, thoughtfully. " If I stay here, de 
massa send me back, and he whip me to death ; they say our 
savors are comin', and I cro meet de Bride";room." 

Ostin had made up his mind, and no persuasion of Chloe's 
could shake his resolution. So, after providing himself with a 
hoecake and some food in his wallet, 'he took an affectionate 
leave of Chloe and their little picaninny and started off. 

Ostin reached the banks of the Chattahoochee before day, but 
had to conceal himself in the brakes until night would come 
round again. He knew the country well, and he thought that by 
travelling by night and lying concealed by day, he could escape 
to our lines, which were then in front of Resaca. 

Poor Chloe did not sleep that night, expecting every minute 
to hear the pursuit ; nor was she long kept in suspense, for 
early in the morning Ostin's master, Mr. House, a planter 
named Giles Humphreys, and a Mr. Wemyss, rode up to the 
house, accompanied by bloodhounds. Wemyss made his living 
by keeping bloodhounds for hunting down runaway negroes. 
He had such a keen relish for the business, it was said he could 
smell out a negro himself. With unparalleled refinement they 
made Chloe give them an article of Ostin's clothing to help 
the scent. 

The party was joined by several young bloods and idle ne- 
groes, for such a hunt promised to be exciting, and created 
considerable interest. Mrs. Ballinger entered warmly into the 
spirit of the thing, treated the party liberally to fire-water.- 
Being fully primed, off they started. The hounds soon took up 
the scent, and made the woods ring with their bloodthirsty cry. 

Poor Ostin heard this. It was his death knell, and as the 
hounds approached him, he ran along a creek to bafile their 
scent, and then lay down in the water with barely his head 
above it, and screened by overhanging branches. 

The dogs were put at fault for some time, but were too well 
trained to the game to be thrown off the track. They ran up and 
down the river several times, snuffed around, and searched every 
hole and corner, all the time encouraged by the pack of human 
brutes behind them, who were impatient to satiate their thirst 
with blood. 



152 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

Aftor a long search they discovered poor Ostin, and dragged 
him out like a drowned rat, amidst the jeers and curses of their 
ruffianly followers. 

The poor fellow appealed for mercy, showed his wounds in 
proof of how he was treated, said he would be a faithful ser- 
vant if Mkssa House would keep him himself ; but poor Ostin 
was appealing to hearts of stone. Several negroes had fled to 
the Yankees of late ; it was necessary to make a frightful ex- 
ample. Ostin was tied to a tree ; his back was placed against it ; 
his hands swung round it, and were pinioned to it. In this condi- 
tion the hounds were first let at him, to give them a taste of blood. 
Here an incident occurred that showed even the bloodhound to 
be capable of more kind feeling than a depraved planter. 
Among the dogs was an old hound, which was a great favorite 
with Ostin, who always fed and cared for it. When the other 
dogs fell to tearing the poor wretch, this dog fell on them, and 
was only removed with considerable difficulty. They next 
lighted fires about him, but his wet clothes would not burn. 

While this horrid sacrifice was going on, a woman, half 
naked and frantic, bounded in among them. It was his poor 
wife, who had followed the hunt, and had now come up. She 
threw herself upon the maimed and lacerated victim, every 
embrace only tearing open his wounds. Despite this affecting 
sight, the groans of the poor, suffering wretch, and the plead- 
ings of his unfortunate wife, poor Ostin was made a* victim 
to intimidate others. The only mercy they showed him was to 
suspend him from the limb of a tree. No wonder that we dis- 
covered skeletons in the woods ; no wonder that slavery brought 
its own curse with it. 

Chloe returned homo., became pensive, and would not work ; 
but that Christian lady, Mrs. Ballinger, sold her down in Mont- 
gomery, Alabama, and retained the child. It is said that this 
lady kept her hand in practice by flogging some mulatto girls 
she had. 

It is hard to credit that any person could be guilty of such 
savage cruelty ; yet I heard the story from several. In this 
neighborhood was another man, named Newson, who punished 



CRUELTY OF NEWSON. 153 

his negroes by nailing their ears to a tree. After flogging one 
negro, he tied him naked to a tree, and left him there for the 
flies and mosquitos to feed on his lacerated flesh. 

This man was looked upon as a monster of cruelty. His 
study was how to devise new modes of torture. He took par- 
ticular delight in flogging his negroes himself. I must say that 
such savage demons were the exceptions. I have met negroes 
who seemed to be actually petted by their masters. There 
were many kind, good masters, whose interest and feelings of 
humanity induced them to treat their slaves with kindness ; but 
there were some others, demons in human flesh, who only 
wanted the power and the opportunity to gratify their hellish 
passions. 



154 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

OUR CAVALRY AT WORK. — HOOD REPLACES JOHNSTON. — THEIR 
TACTICS COMPARED. — THE BATTLE OF PEACH-TREE CREEK.— 
ATLANTA SURROUNDED. 

•The all-absorbing interest felt in Grant's campaigns in Vir- 
ginia, and his movements before Richmond, for a time clouded 
Sherman's stirring and brilliant campaign in Georgia. If the 
importance of battles be rated by the thousands killed, we had 
not so bloody a scroll of honor to exhibit ; but if continual 
fighting and incessant and exhausting marching amount to 
anything, we, too, had suffered. It is true that about thirty 
thousand would cover our whole loss since the opening of the 
campaign until we sat down before Atlanta. That would 
scarcely fill up one battle account in Virginia. I have had 
some experience in marching and fighting. I have seen some- 
thing of the endurance of soldiers ; but I must say that Sher- 
man's campaign has surpassed my conception of man's capa- 
bility of endurance. Our march had been one scene of stirring 
events and self-sacrifice, unparalleled in history. 

Our wearied troops had not only to march and fight by day, 
but were often disturbed from their fevered sleep on the wet 
ground by the shots of the enemy and a night attack. When 
repulsed, the men had to build new works and keep on the qui 
vive. Yet these men, with their strong arms, stronger hearts, 
and bronzed faces, were cheerful under the most trying priva- 
tions. 

True, they may have grumbled a little, now and then, when 
disturbed from their sleep by the roar of the musket, or if 
disappointed in their coffee, or some other of the little enjoy- 
ments of a soldier's life ; but then, after giving vent to their 
spleen in a strong prayer or two for the Johnny Rebs, they 



THE ARMY BEFORE ATLANTA. 155 

would coolly fall into line, and, with stern looks and knit 
brows, walk up to the cannon's mouth, not for the bubble 
fame, but because it was their duty, and for the good of their 
country. 

Though our mBn were pretty well exhausted Avhen we 
reached the Chattahoochee, and much in need of some rest, the 
sight of Jerusalem could not have a more inspiring effect on 
the devoted pilgrim than the sight of Atlanta had on our 
troops ; it seemed the long-wished-for goal, and all were eager 
to rush on. 

Having safely effected the crossing of the Chattahoochee, 
General Sherman gave a rest of some six days to his army. 

All this time was well employed in collecting stores at Alla- 
toona. Marietta, Vining Station, and other depots, improving 
the railroads and bridges, and strengthening the guards along 
our lines of communication. 

Sherman now felt secure about Atlanta. Its fall was but a 
matter of time. 

Heretofore the operations of our cavalry were chiefly confined 
to protecting our flanks, guarding our trains, and patrolling our 
railroad lines. 

Sherman now resolved to organize large raiding parties to 
operate on the enemy's rear and destroy their lines of commu- 
nication. 

Johnston's cavalry had made such attempts upon us with 
very partial success ; and now the Mississippi Railroad, con- 
necting with Atlanta and Alabama, was exposed, and General 
Sherman ordered General Rousseau to take command of the 
large cavalry force concentrated at Decatur, Alabama. 

Rousseau's force consisted of the 5th Indiana cavalry. Colonel 
Tom Harrison ; 5th Iowa cavalry. Lieutenant Colonel Patrick ; 
2d Kentucky cavalry. Major Eifort ; 4th Tennessee and 9th 
Ohio cavalry, with two Rodman guns. 

General Rousseau, commanding the district of Nashville, had 
proposed to General Grant a concerted movement from Decatur 
upon Selma, which he looked upon as vulnerable to a cavalry 
attack. This proposition was not entertained at the time. Gen- 



156 Sherman's march through the south. 

eral Sherman, seeing the necessity of destroying the railroad 
between Montgomery, Alabama, and Columbus, Georgia, or- 
dered General Rousseau to make preparations for a raid on the 
road between the above points, also at Opelika, the point at 
which the Columbus road diverges from the Atlanta, West Point, 
and Montgomery road, thus cutting off Johnston's army from 
these two important sources of reenforcements and supplies. 

The force thus organized numbered about two thousand five 
hundred, and had about a thousand Spencer repeating rifles. 

With this expedition General Rousseau started from Decatur 
on the 10th, and, according to instructions, pushed rapidly south 
across the Coosa River, and thence struck directly for Opelika. 

In this raid Rousseau had been remarkably successful. He 
encountered the rebel General Clanton and whipped him ; passed 
through Talladega, struck the railroad on the 16th, twenty-five 
miles west of Opelika, tore it well up, also the branch line 
towards Columbus and West Point. 

Having fulfilled his instructions, he returned to Marietta with 
only a loss of about thirty men. 

Early on the morning of the 17th we broke camp around 
the Chattahoochee, and moved forward, every heart throbbing 
with the hope of entering Atlanta soon. 

The French, in their fatal march through Russia, did not 
look out with more longing desire for Moscow than we did for 
Atlanta. 

The 4th corps advanced on the Atlanta and Roswell road, 
the 23d corps upon the Decatur and Atlanta road, with the 14th 
and 23d on the Pace's Ferry and Atlanta road. McPherson's 
command was on our extreme left, wdth instructions to direct 
his course against the Augusta railroad, east of Decatur, near 
Stone Mountain. 

McPherson marched on a right wheel, and reached the Au- 
gusta road the following day, at a point seven miles east of 
Decatur, and with Gerrard's cavalry and Morgan L. Smith's 
division of infantry, tore up about four mile* of the road. 
Next evening Schofield took possession of the town of Decatur. 

Wheeler's dismounted rebel cavalry were on our front, and 



SKIRMISHING WITH HOOD. 157 

annoyed us from the shelter of rocks, trees, and the forest 
thickness. Wheeler himself had his headquarters in a farm- 
house near Buckhead Creek, about six miles from Atlanta. So 
close was the 4th corps pressing him, that he had only just time 
to leave before our troops came up. 

The day was spent in skirmishing with Wheeler's cavalry 
and Hood's rear guard, for the latter general was now in com- 
mand. 

After some sharp skirmishing, Schofield succeeded in effect- 
ing a crossing over Peach Creek. 

The 20th corps had formed a junction with the right of How- 
ard's corps. 

Next morning General Thomas J. Wood moved out towards 
Peach Creek on a reconnoissance to develop the enemy's posi- 
tion. He advanced two brigades beyond Buckhead, and de- 
ployed a heavy line of skirmishers, which soon became engaged 
with the enemy. 

The rebels began to intrench, but our artillery and sharp- 
shooters soon made them move. 

General Wood, having succeeded in driving the enemy across 
the creek, sent two brigades over, which succeeded in driving 
the rebels from their first line of works, and holding their 
position. They also captured several officers and men of the 
2d Tennessee, who reported Hood's main army only a little in 
their rear. 

The creek was too deep and wide for any great force to cross 
over. 

Brigadier General Hazen at once undertook the building of 
the bridge, which had been destroyed by the rebels in their 
retreat. 

General Hazen, to the cool daring of the soldier, the reflec- 
tive judgment of the wise general, combined a large share of 
engineering skill. 

While engaged personally on the bridge, his provost marshal. 
Captain S. B. Eaton, was badly wounded at his side by a 
sharpshooter, and Major Parkes, of the 79th Indiana, was also 
wounded in the leg. 
14 



158 Sherman's march through the south. 

Stanley effected a crossing on the left of Wood, and Hooker 
on the right. 

Peach Creek runs somewhat in a westerly direction,. and is a 
deep, turbid stream. At the point where Howard had crossed, 
it is only about five miles from Atlanta. 

On the morning of the 20th a general advance in the direc- 
tion of Atlanta was begun. By 10 o'clock the 20th corps had 
reached a range of heights rising between the creek and the city, 
and skirting the creek on its south bank. The 4th corps had 
now occupied the centre, with Newton's division beyond the 
creek, and connecting with Hooker's left, while Hooker's right 
was supported by the 14th corps. 

In the brilliant and desperate conflict that ensued, it was but 
partially engaged. It came up, though, in time to form a junc- 
tion with Williams's division, and take a part in the contest. 

Before entering fully into the details of this fight, I will give 
a short resume of the movements of the 20th corps the day 
previous. 

Hood was now in command of the army. General Johnston 
was removed, because he was not checking Sherman's onward 
march, and because he would not engage to hold Atlanta at all 
hazards. Jeff Davis had been at Macon, lately, painting the 
Confederacy in a most flourishing condition. Among other 
things he told his dupes that Johnston's falling back was merely 
a stratagem on his part ; that when our communication would 
be well cut up, he would pounce upon our army ; and that At- 
lanta should, and would, be kept at all hazards. 

Wheeler's attempt to cut up the line in our rear gave color to 
this ; and now, in order to keep up the drooping hopes of the 
Confederacy, it was necessary to make a desperate blow to hold 
Atlanta. And because Johnston refused to sacrifice an army 
to do this, he was removed. Hood put in his place, and a new 
mode of campaigning inaugurated. Johnston proved himself a 
wise and prudent general, when, finding himself not able to 
contend against his antagonist in the field, he was keeping his 
army compact and well in hand for any opportunity that his 
wily enemy should afford him. Hood was a brave man, but a 



JOHNSTON AND HOOD. 159 

rash one ; all his strategy lay in desperate fighting. This 
might do well enough if he were superior in numbers, or had 
the means of replenishing his ranks ; but with a decimated 
army, and no means of replenishing it, it was certain destruc- 
tion. This he fully proved by his attack on Hooker on the 
20th of July, on McPherson on the 22d, on Howard on the 
28th, and in hi& insane attempt to capture Nashville, where 
Thomas gave the final blow to himself and his army. 

Had he followed Johnston's programme, or had Johnston 
retained command of the army, he would have fallen back 
toward Macon, giving us the option of garrisoning Atlanta, and 
contenting ourselves with a trifling victory, or following him 
up. It took about eighty thousand men to guard our lines 
of communication to Atlanta. It would take about eighty 
thousand more to Macon, and thus absorb our whole army. 
Well, should we follow them up, could they succeed in cutting 
ofi* our supplies, we were ruined, or, should Sherman make one 
mistake, such a wily general as Johnston would be sure to take 
advantage of it. 

Hood first weakened his army by mad assaults, and then 
went on a wild-goose chase to Nashville with what remained, 
opening the road for Sherman's grand raid, which showed the 
weakness of the Confederacy, and broke its backbone. 

On the morning of the 19th, Geary's division, 20th corps, 
was ordered to advance. Williams's and Ward's divisions were 
ordered to hold themselves in readiness to follow Geary's. 
General Ward had taken command of the third division. 
General Osterhaus having gone home on sick leave. The 
20th corps was encamped, at this time, on the Buckhead road, 
about two miles from Peach-tree Creek, and six miles due 
north from Atlanta. Geary advanced to the creek, repulsing 
the enemy in his front. The rebels destroyed the bridge over 
the creek, which was about twenty feet wide and five feet deep. 
The enemy took up a strong position on a range of hills on the 
other side. After a careful survey of the position, Geary 
resolved to make a crossing. He got his artillery into position, 
80 as to cover the crossing* 



160 Sherman's march through the south. 

The' pioneers having ready the materials for laying the 
bridge, our artillery opened, and our sharpshooters advanced 
along the creek, under cover of the fire. A hastily constructed 
bridge was constructed, and Colonel Ireland rapidly threw 
his brigade across, and charged the enemy's flank. The whole 
division soon followed to his support, and succeeded in taking 
up a position beyond the creek. Meantime the 4th corps was 
effecting a crossing at Collier's Mills, and the 14th at Howel's 
Mills. 

On the morning of the 20th, Williams's division crossed on 
the same bridge as Geary's, and Ward's farther on the left. 

About 11 o'clock, Colonel Candy's brigade, Geary's division, 
advanced nearly a mile across a ridge, and established a line 
there. 

This hill was on the flank of a ridge held by the rebel 
skirmishers. 

General Ward soon attacked their position, and met a stub- 
born resistance. 

The 13th New York battery (Bundy's) was placed in front 
of Candy's brigade, and enfiladed the rebel lines. Colonel P. 
H. Jones (now General Jones) sent out the 33d New Jersey, 
under Lieutenant Colonel Furratt, to support Ward's skirmish- 
ers and to fortify the hill. General Geary and staff were out 
reconnoitring, and soon perceived the enemy massing in column 
for an assault. 

The divisions and brigades were formed into line as fast as 
possible. 

Candy's brigade occupied the advance left of Geary's line, 
Jones's the right, and Ireland's in reserve. Williams's division 
was on the right of Geary, Ward's on the left ; both somewhat 
refused, forming a kind of semicircle, with Geary's division as 
the apex. 

Newton's division, of Howard's corps, had fortunately moved 
to the right the night previous, in order to connect with Hooker, 
and was now thrown back en echelon^ his left resting on the 
creek. They had barely time to throw up hurried breastworks 
of rails in their, front, and bring their artillery into position, 



MGHTING AT CLOSE QUARTERS. 161 

when the enemy swept ovet the plain and burst on their front, 
next on Geary's front and flank, actually wedging between his 
right and Williams's lines, thus swinging on his rear. Colonel 
Jones at once wheeled round by brigade front. Colonel Candy 
doing the same, thus exposing the enemy to a cross fire. The 
fighting here was close and desperate for some time, the enemy 
striving to crush Jones's and Candy's brigades, and thus pierce 
our centre and double up our flanks. Our troops, on the other 
hand, fully sensible of the imminent peril of the movement, 
fought with desperate determination, resolved to hold their 
ground until the lines could close up and support them. 

Jones's noble brigade, admirably led and fought by its brave 
commander, was nearly decimated, and could not hold out much 
longer ; Candy's brigade, too, was fearfully thinned, when Wil- 
liams's left closed up on the enemy, thus placing them between 
an enfilading fire. A desperate fight ensued, the troops, on both 
sides, being exposed, and fighting at close quarters. At some 
points it was a regular hand-to-hand conflict. Williams suc- 
ceeded in throwing his whole division on the enemy's flank, 
which was soon compelled to give way, and was actually mowed 
down while retreating over the plain to their works. In 
this short and desperate struggle we lost some valuable officers, 
among them Captain Thomas H. Elliot, adjutant general to 
General Geary. Captain Elliot was a native of Philadelphia, 
son to Colonel K. Elliot. He was a good officer, of splendid 
executive ability, a thorough gentleman, and refined scholar. 
Geary suffered much, during the war, in staff" officers, all of 
them being either killed or wounded. Captain NcAvcomb, of 
General Williams's staff", was also killed. Several field-officers 
were either killed or wounded. Among the latter were Colonel 
Jackson, 134th New York, and Lieutenant Colonel Furratt, 
33d New Jersey, both of whom distinguished themselves during 
the engagement. 

Rdbertson's brigade, of Williams's division, engaged the enemy 

on the flank, and lost severely. It made a noble fight, stemming 

the rebel advance until the rest of Williams's division came up. 

Colonel Loyz, of the 141st New York, was killed. Colonel 

14* 



162 Sherman's march through the south. 

McNeJty lost an arm, and the brave Colonel McGroarty, of the 
61st Ohio, was shot through the shoulder. 

About 4 o'clock the rebels came on in massed columns against 
Newton, without skirmishers, and with fierce yells they bore 
down upon his line. Newton's division had but partly com- 
pleted their breastwork of rails, and had barely time to fall into 
line and seize their guns, before Walker's and Bates's division, 
of Hardee's corps, burst right on them. 

The pickets guarding the interval between the right and left 
had barely time to jump into the creek and swim for their lives. 
For a moment everything was in confusion. Newton's line was 
extended and weak, being thrown back to guard the bridges 
across the creek. 

Captain Goodspeed brought up his guns with great rapidity, 
and placed them in position. They opened with canister, and 
poured a deadly storm on the advancing enemy. The gunners 
worked with frenzied energy, pouring the leaden storm right 
into their faces, and sweeping whole lanes through their ranks. 
The rebels poured volley after volley into our line, and, though 
fearfully decimated, continued to advance. Officer after officer, 
color-bearer after color-bearer, line after line, went down before 
the sweeping storm of canister and bullets. 

At length their line began to falter and get into confusion. 
We renewed our energy with a sort of frantic rage, and soon 
they wavered. One volley, one cheer from our men, and the 
enemy broke and fled. 

General Ward's division, on Newton's right, was struck at 
the same time. Ward had just halted his men at the foot of a 
hill, when he discovered that the enemy were gathering in his 
front, evidently with the intention of making an assault. 

Ward formed into line, and the enemy soon came pouring on 
him. Ward at once advanced up the hill in his front, in order 
to gain the crest before the rebels. Here the two columns first 
struck each other ; and as both sides fought with muskets, the 
destruction of life was fearful. Ward had previously sent his 
artillery to assist Newton. 

In Ward's front the men fought, at some points, at close 



THE BATTLE DESPERATE. 163 

quarters, the contending lines actually intermingling togethef, 
and fighting hand to hand with the bayonet and clubbed rillcs. 

This continued for nearly an hour, the opposing lines surging 
to and fro, until at length the rebels broke for the woods, leaving 
a large number of prisoners. 

The rebel charge next swept along to the right, striking 
Geary's and Williams's divisions, which were also exposed, not 
having time to throw up any works, for the rebel assault came 
by surprise. 

Palmer's 14th corps was partly intrenched on Williams's left, 
and considerably refused, and consequently did not suiFer much 
during the fight. 

Ward captured six battle-flags and a large number of prison- 
ers, besides strewing the field in his front with killed and 
wounded. The 2Gth Wisconsin took the colors of the 33d 
Mississippi ; the 105th Illinois captured two colors, and the 
129th Illinois one. Some of our men, being out of ammunition, 
emptied the dead rebels' cartridge-boxes into their own. 

Colonel Harrison, 129th Illinois, and four men, captured 
three officers and thirty men of the 57th Alabama. 

A boy about fourteen years old, named Ed. Harvey, 70th 
Indiana, captured five men, and brought them in prisoners. 

This battle was very obstinately contested on both sides. 
The rebels got mixed up with our lines, when a regular hand- 
to-hand death-struggle ensued. As soon as we recovered from 
the first surprise, and got to form our lines, we mowed the 
enemy down with fearful slaughter. 

The battle of the 20th was desperate and stubborn. Hooker 
was in marching column, and Hood thought he would strike 
him unprepared. In this he partly succeeded. A large gap 
intervened between Geary's and Williams's divisions, through 
which he burst with his massed troops in admirable order. Our 
troops, for a moment, gave way ; but, after recovering from the 
first panic, formed and wheeled about, presenting two fronts to 
the rebel column, which had now wedged through them. In 
this manner a double fire was brought to bear on their lines, and 
the slaughter was fearful. Along the deep hollow intervening 



164 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

between Geary's and Williams's division the enemy poured 
along in masses, but only to be mowed down wholesale. 
Robertson's brigade, of Williams's division, hastened up along 
the crest of the hill, and facing by the left flank, engaged them. 
Geary's right struck them on the other side, and Knipe's 
brigade had formed in line on the right of Robertson and in 
conjunction with the 14tli corps. The enemy also poured 
down upon Knipe with the same fierceness and desperation they 
exhibited at the other points. 

At this stage the battle raged fiercely ; the air became dark 
and heavy from the sulphurous canopy of smoke wiiich hung 
over the plain. Wounded men were borne to the rear by scores, 
the blood flowing from their wounds. Even those sickening 
siglits, and the din of musketry, and the thundering roar of ar- 
tillery, did not damp the ardor of the contending heroes ; for 
fresh troops bravely advanced to fill the thinning lines w^hich 
were made by some patriotic hearts, the treasured pride of 
many a household, sinking, quivering, upon the earth, to fill a 
soldier's grave and rend a mother's heart. 

This was the first of Hood's desperate assaults around At- 
lanta ; and dear was the price he paid for it, and bloody the 
harvest he reaped. 

In their telegrams to General Sherman, General Howard 
stated that he had buried two hundred, and that there was a 
large number of wounded in his front ; and Hooker reported, 
" I have buried four hundred dead, and at least four thousand 
wounded lie in my front." 

Sherman himself estimated the rebel loss at about five thou- 
sand, and ours at fifteen hundred. He says, " The enemy left 
on the field over five hundred dead, about one thousand wound- 
ed severely^ seven stands of colors, and many prisoners." 

I think myself the rebel loss is over-estimated. Generals, 
in making their returns, are seldom under the mark ; for the 
greater the loss to the enemy, the greater is their victory. I 
would set down our loss at about two thousand ; the enemy's at 
least double that. As they were the assaulting parties, and 
exposed, their loss must be severe. 



ATLANTA SUEROUNDED. 165 

Next day (21st July) McPherson moved forward and es- 
tablished a line east and south of Atlanta, and within three 
miles of the town. 

Blair's corps, 17th, formed the extreme left, and rested south 
of the city, his left flank being within two miles of the Macon 
railroad. 

Logan held the Decatur road, his centre resting on it, with 
Dodge on his right. 

Palmer, Howard, and Hooker's corps swung round to the 
right, forming an irregular semicircle. Hooker's right com- 
manded the Chattahoochee. 

The enemy's lines Avere adapted to ours, their left extending 
to the river, and covering the roads leading to Atlanta. 

Gerrard's cavalry occupied a line along the Decatur, Cross- 
Keys, and Lebanon road, protecting our supplies at Koswell. 
Stoneman was north of the river, between the Sandtown road and 
Vining's Bridge. Gerrard had sent forward a squad of cavalry 
in advance, which succeeded in cutting the railroad near Stone 
Mountain. We could see the heavy volumes of smoke rising 
from the burning of the cross-ties and station-houses. 

While Hooker was engaged with the enemy, our centre also 
skirmished with them. General T. J. Wood swung round on* 
the Decatur road after General Stanley. Stanley soon struck 
the enemy, and, after some sharp fighting, drove them back 
to the rear of a Mr. Johnson's house, about four miles from 
Atlanta. Here the 40th Ohio and 21st Kentucky, which had 
the advance, struck on a strong line of rebels. Stanley hurried 
up his artillery, and opened on the rebels with good effect. 

Schofield had now connected with Stanley on the left, and 
had swung round his left towards Atlanta, timing his move- 
ment with McPherson's. 

On the night of the 21st, Schofield's right and McPherson's 
left were within less than three miles of Atlanta, so that they 
could actually rain in shell upon the devoted city. 

Our army now surrounded Atlanta in a horseshoe form. 
McPherson's command stretched beyond the Atlanta and Au- 
gusta Railroad, which he had torn up, thus cutting off one 



166 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

source of supplies from the enemy, and preventing them from 
falling back to Stone Mountain. Our lines were drawing 
tighter and tighter around the city. It was evident that it 
would soon fall, unless Hood, by any more of his dashing 
assaults, could burst through our lines and compel us to retreat. 
This he tried next day ; but the effect was as crushing and 
disastrous to him as his attempt on Hooker. 



BATTLE OP JULY. 167 



CHAPTER XV. 

BATTLE OF THE 22D OF JULY. — DEATH OF GENERAL MCPHER- 
SON.— HIS LIFE AND SERVICES. — SCENES AMONG THE DEAD 
AND WOUNDED. * 

Hood had now been reenforced by Stephen D. Lee, with 
about four thousand of the Trans-Mississippi army, and about 
ten thousand militia, which he had placed to garrison the 
trenches in and around Atlanta. Johnston had been removed 
for not fighting his army. Hood was resolved that he would 
not give any cause of complaint on this score, and if by any 
good fortune he should succeed, he would eclipse Johnston as a 
general ; besides, things were in such a desponding state, that 
even in case of failure his reputation could not suffer much. 

At a council of war held on the 16th, at which Jeff Davis 
himself presided, and Governor Brown, Johnston, and Hood 
were present, Johnston was relieved of his command, and Hood 
installed in his place. Next day Johnston issued a farewell 
address to the army ; this was followed by an address from 
Hood, and'reckless assaults on our lines. Foiled in his desper- 
ate attempt on Hooker, under cover of the night he moved his 
army from the front of our right wing, and transferred it to 
our left. He seemed to understand t)ur position thoroughly, for 
he knew that on McPherson's left was a deep, unguarded gap, 
through which he could move his columns with the bold inten- 
tion of outflanking our army. In this he was partly successful, 
and might have been fully so, only for our superior numbers and 
the desperate manner in which our troops fought. This move- 
ment of Hood's has been very much censured by military 
critics ; to me, it appears a masterly one. Had he succeeded, — 
and the chances were in his favor, — he would have broken our 



w 



168 Sherman's march through the south. 

left wing, and then he could safely capture our immense trains, 
which were parked around the Chattahoochee, and follow this 
up by an attack in rear on our right, or centre, while the militia 
behind the strong works in front were able to keep our advance 
in check. This assault appeared to me to have more wisdom in 
its design and execution, than the assault on Hooker's lines. In 
the latter the advantages were on the side of our army, as 
Hooker's divisions were close, and he got into position too soon 
for the rebels to obtain advantage. In the attack on McPher- 
eon they succeeded in swinging their columns on our flanks and 
rear, and under such circumstances few troops will withstand a 
charge. I have seldom known a case where troops are out- 
flanked and enfiladed but they lose heart and break. Men are 
judged, not so much by the wisdom of their acts or counsels, 
as by the result. It was so with Hood ; he failed and is exe- 
crated ; had he succeeded, he would have been idolized. 

On the morning of the 22d, Generals Howard and Hooker, 
finding that the rebels had retired from their immediate front, 
followed them up close to their first line of works, and captured 
several prisoners and stragglers. They then threw out strong 
lines of skirmishers, and established their batteries in good posi- 
tions. The rebels kept pressing on Hooker's front in order to 
cloak their assault on the left. Schofield, too, considerably ad- 
vanced his lines, and skirmished with the enemy. Even the 
wily Sherman himself was for a time deceived by this move- 
ment of the enemy. He thought that Hood was so prostrated 
by his defeat on the 20th, that he was going to give up Atlanta 
without striking another blow for it. But Hood was simply car- 
rying out that bloody programme, of which his assault of the 
20th was an index. 

General McPherson had moved from Decatur with the inten- 
tion of joining the column that was closing around Atlanta, and 
marched along the line of railroad with the 15th corps, destroy- 
ing it as he marched. Blair's corps, the 17th, was on the left 
of Logan, and Dodge's, the 16th, on his right, and connecting 
with Schofield near the Howard House. 

On the evening of the 21st, Blair's corps had a sharp engage- 

$ 



DEATH OF GENERAL M'pHERSON. 169 

ment with the enemy for the possession of a commanding hill, 
called Ball Hill, south and east of the railroad. This we suc- 
ceeded in gaining, and it gave us a most commanding range of 
the very heart of the city itself. General Dodge was ordered 
from right to left to occupy this position, and make it a strong 
general left flank. General Dodge was in the act of moving by 
a kind of by-road for this point when the enemy struck him. 

After the repulse on our right, Hood hastily swung round 
Hardee's corps, followed by the others, on the flank and rear of 
McPherson. This hurried and unexpected movement partly 
took us by surprise. Unfortunately, McPherson had no cavalry 
guarding his front or flank, for Gerrard was out on a raid to 
Covington, on the Augusta line, and with instructions to send 
detachments to break the bridge across the Yellow and Uleau- 
hatchee River, tributaries of the Ocmulgee. 

At daylight on the 22d, the pickets discovered the rebel 
works in their front evacuated, as the enemy had fallen back to 
their main lines. Preparations were made to advance our whole 
line. Schofield's corps moved up first, and began to reverse the 
abandoned rebel works. There was much conjecture as to what 
this movement meant. Could it be that the city was evacuated ? 
Scouts and deserters reported so. Several of the latter, no 
doubt, came into our lines to confirm this report. 

About noon our troops were still moving into position, Giles 
A. Smith's division occupied the left of Blair's corps ; in his rear 
was General Fuller ; while General Sweeny's division brought up 
the extreme rear. This was fortunate, as, had they been up and 
in position, there would be no troops to check the headlong 
dash of Hardee's corps, as it swept around our extreme flank. 

The mystery of the falling back by the rebels was soon solved, 
for about 2 o'clock Hardee's corps had completely got in on 
our rear. Hardee made his assault on the rear of the 17th 
corps, repulsing a brigade supporting the artillery, and captur- 
ing the battery. When the attack was made. General McPher- 
son was at Howard's House, in consultation with Sherman, when 
he was apprised of the attack on his lines. The heavy roll of 
musketry and artillery from the left fully confirmed this report. 
15 



170 Sherman's march through the south. 

He hastily rode off, despatch ing his staiF officers and orderlies 
to different parts of the lines with commands. He rode right 
for Dodge's column, in which there had been some changes 
made since morning. He passed to the left and rear of Gen- 
eral Giles Smith's division, which w^as Blair's extreme left. A 
gap intervened between the 16th and 17th corps, through which 
the general passed. Here he fell from the fire of the rebel 
sharpshooters. His wounded horse returned riderless, and the 
general's dead body was recovered in the course of the evening. 
As soon as General Sherman learned the sad news, he at once 
despatched an aid to General John A. Logan, instructing him to 
assume chief command. 

The death of McPherson was kept secret. He was too much 
beloved to let his army know that he was no more, at such a 
critical moment. At night, when his death was known, there 
was one general feeling of grief and indignation. Strong men, 
who unmoved saw their comrades fall around them, wept like 
children. 

Logan coolly assumed the command, making no display, so 
as to conceal the sad bereavement from officers and men. It is 
said that when the battle was fought and won. General Sherman, 
looking down on the body of the dead chieftain, exclaimed, — 

" Yes, yes ; it's all very well, if we could only restore Mc- 
Pherson.'* 

About noon the fight was raging fiercely. Hardee had struck 
Blair's left flank, overlapping it, and swinging round until he 
struck Dodge's corps in motion. The fighting was desperate in 
front of the 16th corps, the line of which ran partly at right 
angles to the 17th corps. Sweeny's division hastily got into 
line in the following order : Colonel Rice's brigade faced to the 
rear, and Colonel Mersey's southward, with Morrill's brigade, 
of Fuller's division, on Mersey's right. Soon the whole rebel 
column burst upon them. The 14th Ohio battery opened on 
their advance, hurling the deadly storm into their faces. The col- 
umn halted for a moment, and then defiantly came on. The rebel 
line was now overlapping Dodge's command, and threatened to 
turn his flank. He ordered the 81st Ohio, Lieutenant Colonel 



PROGRESS OP A BATTLE. 171 

Adams, and the 12th Illinois, Colonel Von Sellar, to charge on 
the rebel flank. These regiments moved through a valley, and 
wheeling round the point of a ridge, suddenly burst on the 
rebel flank, slaughtering them terribly, and capturing several 
prisoners and two stands of colors. Sweeny was all this time 
gallantly fighting his division, stemming the advance of Hardee's 
corps. Morrill's brigade impetuously charged the enemy, 
driving them back to the edge of the wood, but was soon over- 
powered and forced to fall back ; again it crossed the bloody 
field to be again repulsed, but soon rallied, advanced, and held 
its position. 

At the same time Rice's and Murray's brigades were fiercely 
engaged with the enemy. General Sweeny knew that in a great 
measure the fate of the day depended on his division ; unless he 
could check the rebel advance long enough for the troops to 
take up position, they would overwhelm them, flank and rear. 
With true Celtic chivalry he dashed from point to point, and if 
he saw any part of the lines wavering, there he was, regardless 
of shot and shell, encouraging and exhorting the troops. 

The attack in front of the 17th corps was steadily made and 
well sustained. After heavy hand-to-hand fighting, the rebels 
succeeded in doubling in on the 16th, and capturing several 
pieces of artillery. 

Generals Giles A. Smith's and Legget's divisions were making 
a stubborn stand against the enemy, who had swarmed upon 
them. They fought in the old intrenchments, and, being at- 
tacked in front and rear, had to fight, now on one side, then 
jump over it and fight on the other side ; the men bayoneting 
one another in the very trenches. 

The attack on the centre was equally obstinate. Logan's 
15th corps was fighting for life. Morgan L. Smith's division 
was almost decimated, and was at length forced to retire. The 
enemy had captured the most of our artillery, and driven back 
our lines at several points. That brave young artillerist Cap- 
tain De Grass sat down and wept like a child for his guns, and, 
as the enemy turned them on us, he could recognize their sound 
amidst the din and roar of battle, and wondered how they could 



172 Sherman's march through the south. 

be so ungrateful as to turn upon him. The celebrated battery 
of twenty-pound Parrott's, and Murray's regular battery "were 
all in their hands. 

Things looked gloomy now. McPherson was dead, our ar- 
tillery captured, our troops repulsed at several points, and the 
stream of bleeding men that was going to the rear told the 
deadly nature of the conflict. 

General Sherman, accompanied by Schofield and Howard, 
occupied a prominent position near Colonel Howard's house, 
from which he could superintend the whole proceedings. On a 
commanding hill near, he placed a battery of the 15th corps, 
and another of the 23d corps, which commanded a converging, 
enfilading fire on the enemy. He then sent word to General 
Logan to mass his troops in the centre and charge. 

" You must retake those guns," was his peremptory order. 
Logan seemed to throw his own fiery spirit into the troops. He 
often rode at the heads of the columns, to make them believe 
the danger w^as not so great. Everything being ready. Wood's 
first division, 15th corps, was ordered to lead the charge. 
Wood swung his right around so as to envelop the rebel rear. 

The rebel column, looking upon us as completely broken, 
felt surprised that we should renew the conflict. They moved 
out in column to meet the assault. Our remaining artillery 
now opened, the batteries near Howard's house hurling shot 
and shell among them. A confiding cheer went up from our 
ranks, and on they swept. The contending lines were now so 
close that the artillery had to cease — one wild cheer from our 
lines, one sweeping charge, the men delivering a low and 
deadly fire into the advancing rebel columns as they came on. 
The enemy's line staggered, paused, and fled before that glit- 
tering forest of bayenets. 

This was the turning-point of battle ; we charged all along 
the line. The enemy were soon scattered and broken, and 
flying on all sides. We recovered all our artillery, except two 
pieces. Our loss in this battle was about thirty-five hundred, 
all counted. The enemy's - loss was at least seven thousand. 
Logan buried over two thousand of the enemy's dead. 



hood's desperation. 173 

Hood seemed to be well informed as to our positions, for he 
selected the only available point by which he could wheel to our 
rear ; besides, he knew that McPherson's immense wagon train 
was left very poorly guarded at Decatur. He did not know, 
though, that Colonel Sprague — afterwards General Sprague — 
had gone with his brigade to guard it. 

Hood ordered Wheeler's cavalry to make a simultaneous 
attack on the train. 

Colonel Sprague, with his three regiments, met Wheeler's 
attack with promptness and firmness. Though Wheeler had 
two divisions of cavalry, mounted and dismounted. Colonel 
Sprague, with a loss of two hundred men, repulsed them and 
saved the trains. 

On the whole, this was one of the most desperately contested 
conflicts of the campaign. 

Hood, like the ruined gambler, staked all on one throw. 
His plans were well and wisely laid ; he surprised the cautious 
Sherman, and had he less brave troops and indefatigable generals 
to contend against, he would have succeeded. It was a desperate 
game ; the stakes were great, and though he lost, he played his 
hand well. 

The body of McPherson, as I said, was soon recovered. The 
rebels either did not know his rank, or had not time to remove 
him, as the lines soon after surged from that point. Two of 
our skirmishers, who saw the general fall, went over to the 
spot. The rebel skirmish lines were quite near. The general 
was scarcely dead when they came up. He was lying on his 
face and breathing heavily, but unable to speak. They turned 
him on his back ; he opened his eyes, and gave one parting look 
and a smile, when he saw they were his own men, and then 
expired. 

It was reported that the rebels stripped the body ; this is not 
likely, because, if they knew his rank, they certainly would 
have carried him off. 

One of the two niQu confessed to me, " You see, sir, we 
knew we hain't no chance of staying there long, as they were 
fighting all round us, but we did not want to let the poor gen- 
15* 



174 Sherman's march through the south. 

eral get into their hands ; so, though it went sore to our hearts 
to strip our noble general, we cut off his stars and buttons, so 
they would not know him. We then hid, and the rebels swept 
over us ; they kicked me up, and took me along. They searched 
me, and found the general's things with me, which one of them 
transferred to his own pocket. I watched this fellow ; he soon, 
got knocked over ; I gave a jump and kicked about as if I were 
shot too ; so they left me there. I returned, and knowing that 
the dead rebel did not want the things any longer, I took them, 
and staid with the general's body until it was removed." 

McPherson was a great favorite in the army. Several of his 
brother generals came to bid farewell to the remains ; many 
were seen to weep as they turned away ; even the stern Sher- 
man's eyes were not dry. A victory was dearly bought at the 
sacrifice of such a man. 

Slcetch of Ilajor General McPherson, 

Major General James B. McPherson, United States volun- 
teers, and brigadier general of the regular army, was born in 
Sandusky, Ohio, in November, 1828, and was consequently in 
his thirty-sixth year when he was killed. He graduated at the 
head of his class at West Point, and entered the regular array 
with the brevet rank of second lieutenant of engineers. He 
was engaged in different military capacities, both in New York 
and on the Pacific coast. 

In 18G1, when General Halleck was ordered to the depart- 
ment of the west, he was selected as aid-de-camp, with the 
ratik of lieutenant colonel. He was chief engineer in the expe- 
dition against Forts Henry and Donelson, and for his services 
promoted to a brevet major of engineers. He served with Gen- 
eral Grant during his operations in Tennessee, and until after 
the battle of Shiloh. He was again promoted for his services 
at Shiloh to a brevet lieutenant colonelcy of engineers. He 
was soon promoted to a colonelcy, and again assigned to Gen- 
eral Halleck. At Corinth he again distinguished himself, and 
was soon after promoted to the rank of brigadier general of 
volunteers. At the battle of Luka, September, 1862, General 



m'pherson's life and services. 175 

McPherson held a position on the staff of General Grant, and 
distinguished himself at Corinth by carrying reenforeements to 
the besieged garrison in October, with the enemy intervening ; 
and next day, at the head of a division, he ptirsued the flying 
column of the foe. 

For his services he was promoted to the rank of major gen- 
eral of volunteers, to date October 8, 1862. He commanded 
the column that moved on Lagrange, under Grant, in the fall 
of 1862. He next commanded an expedition into Mississippi. 
His history from this time forward is a history of Grant's va- 
rious battles and campaigns. 

He was engaged at Fort Gibson, being then in command of 
the 17th corps. Under his direction the Bayou Pere was bridged 
and crossed, the enemy being followed up to Jackson, Missis- 
sippi. He again whipped the enemy at Raymond, repulsed 
them after a severe fight, and again whipped them at Cham- 
pion's Hill. 

In front of Vicksburg he acted a distinguished part, both as 
a general and in the employment of his splendid engineering 
qualities. After the fall of Vicksburg, General Grant, in rec- 
ommending his various officers for promotion, says of him, after 
enumerating his many battles, " He is one of the ablest engi- 
neers and most skilful generals. I would respectfully but ur- 
gently recommend his promotion to the position of brigadier 
general in the regular army." This was granted, and the 
Board of Honor voted him a gold medal for his gallant conduct 
during the siege of Vicksburg. 

In February, 1864, he commanded a wing of Sherman's 
army, during the expedition from Vicksburg to Meridian. On 
Sherman assuming command of the military division of the 
Mississippi, General McPherson was placed in command of the 
army and department of the Tennessee, embracing the 15th, 
16th, and 17th army corps. He thereupon removed his head- 
quarters to Huntsville ,• and hence he commenced his movements 
in the latter end of April, 1864, taking the right of Sherman's 
army in the Georgian campaign. On the 9th of May he occu- 
pied Snake Creek Gap, and the next day was within a mile of 



17G Sherman's march through the south. 

Resaca,, Again, he encountered and routed the enemy at Pow- 
der Springs, near Dallas, inflicting a severe loss npon them. 

At Allatoona he distinguished himself; also in the several 
engagements around Big Shanty and Kenesaw Mountain. His 
command did a great deal of heavy marching on the Chatta- 
hoochee, now threatening the rebel left on Nickajack Creek, 
and then suddenly wheeling on their right, crossing the river, 
moving on Decatur, and destroying the Augusta line. After 
such brilliant services^ he met his death, I might almost say, 
accidentally, in the desperate charge Hood made on his line on 
the 22d of July. 

In appearance he was near six feet high, of agreeable and 
engaging manners. 

His eyes were dark, his hair and beard, which he wore long 
and flowing, rather dark brown. He was a man of noble, 
stately presence, affable and courteous to all. 

Though strict in the discharge of his military duties, he was 
beloved by his officers and revered by his soldiers. In his fall 
his soldiers lost their friend, the country a true patriot and wise 
general. 

In this battle I had an opportunity of witnessing how little 
personal animosity men who are engaged in deadly conflict 
entertain for one another, and again how the terrors of death' 
itself cannot allay bitter personal hatred. Ambulances, with 
the blood dripping between their boards from the wounds 
of the poor sufferers inside, were hurrying to the rear. The 
low groans and the piercing shrieks that issued from the 
vehicles, as the victims were shaken about by the wheels 
getting into some deep slough, or bumping against a tree, 
pierced the very marrow in my bones. A long line of these 
wagons was continually hurrying from the field to the hos- 
pitals. 

In passing one of these, I was stopped by an angry alterca- 
tion going on inside. The ambulance was stopped, and the two 
wounded men, one of whom was a rebel, the other a Federal^ 
were found to be engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand encounter. 
We wrenched the bayonets from their hands. 



SCENES AMONG THE DEAD AND WOUNDED. 177 

'" Shame, shame ! " I exclaimed, ''for wounded men thus to 
butcher one another. You should not forget you are enemies 
no longer." 

"Should we, indeed?" exclaimed the Federal soldier, "I 
hain't forgot it, though. I hain't forgot this here scoundrel 
burnt the house over my wife and children up in Tennessee ; 
he may thank his stars this leg and arm are shattered, or I'd 
have pinned him to the wagon here." 

It was true. The man's leg and arm were broken, and had 
afterwards to be amputated. 

" O, you are a fine fellow," sneered the other, who could 
scarcely speak from a bullet- wound through the chest. " Only 
for this ugly hole in my lungs, Ave'd see who could crow. I am 
a poor wounded prisoner now. You can do as you like, but if 
we met up in Tennessee, when you were on my track with your 
bloodhound, it would be different. Answell, did you not kill 
my brother and my father? and why should not I look for 
vengeance ? " 

" If I did, it was in fair fight. There was nothing of your 
d — n skulking, murdering tricks about it." 

Seeing the angry feeling between the two men, and that 
nothing but more blood could satisfy it, we removed one of 
them to another ambulance. Behind the ambulances were the 
stretcher-bearers removing the wounded from the field. The 
stretchers were dripping with blood ; and as they deposited 
their gory burdens, some were senseless, some speechless, others 
cheerful, and conversing about the battle, treating their wounds 
very lightly. 

On the other hand, some who were not dangerously wounded 
were limping along on their muskets, hobbling to the rear. 

It was no unusual sight to see a Federal soldier kindly 
leaning on the arm of a Confederate one, who was less wounded 
than himself. 

These men appeared on the best possible terms, and almost 
wondered why they should be fighting against each other. 
► As one had a canteen, they took several pulls out of it, and 
tnen stopped, and discussed its merits. On the whole, some of 



178 Sherman's march through the south. 

these appeared to be the best possible friends. I met one 
stretcher carrying a very fine young rebel soldier. Beside it 
was a sergeant, who, as the bearers laid down their burden, 
wiped the death-damp from his brow, and gave him a drink 
from his canteen. 

The sergeant seemed to suffer as much agony as the mute 
soldier on the stretcher. I found they were brothers from 
Tennessee, and had now, for the first and last time, met in four 
years.. 

The elder brother, who was now on the stretcher, was in 
business in Augusta at the breaking out of the war, and, of 
course, joined the rebel army ; the other, who remained at 
home, joined the Federal army. In the charge on the works, 
the sergeant had shot down this young fellow, who daringly 
placed the rebel colors on our works. He then recognized him 
as his elder brother. 

I knew another case in this fight where the father shot his 
own son. 

When the rebels were charging upon our lines, a young 
ofiicer at their head was conspicuous for the desperate bravery 
with which he was leading on his men. 

"Will one of you shoot him doAvn? or we are undone," 
exclaimed the ofiicer in command. 

A sergeant, Avho was remarkable for his crack shot, took 
deliberate aim, and shot the rebel officer ; his men gave 
way, and we occupied the ground. The dying officer was 
brought within our lines, and the sergeant found that he 
was his only son whom he had left in business down in 
Charleston at the breaking out of the war. 

This was too much for the wretched father ; so in the grand 
charge that soon followed, he was conspicuous, and, with a 
frantic desperation, rushed right upon the enemy^ and fell.with 
his body actuafly perforated with bullets. 

I will relate another case, of an Irishman who came to this 
country in search of a long absent brother. One was north, 
the other south, and both joined the contending armies. 



THE GERMAN BROTHERS. 179 

The day after the battle, a flag of truce was sent out in order 
to bury the dead. 

Our Irish friend was among the parties detailed ; and in one 
of the bodies brought for interment he discovered his long-lost 
brother. 

Another was the case of two Germans. One of our men, 
detailed for hospital duty, had a young soldier brought in to his 
care, whose leg had been just amputated. The poor youth was 
still delirious, and dreamed and talked of absent friends in 
Rhineland. Then he commenced raving about Karl, a long 
absent brother, whom his parents commissioned him to find in 
America. 

" O, mine Gott ! " exclaimed Karl, covering his face with his 
hands, " but he is mine broder." 

And it was thus they met for the first time since Karl left 
the other, a prattling babe in the old home on the Rhine. 
All Karl's care could not save him ; but he was conscious 
before he died, and had the poor satisfaction of knowing Karl, 
and having a good talk about the old folks, and the grape- 
clad cottage overlooking the river. Karl heard his last sigh 
breathed, and bore his last wish to those at home. 

He had his body interred beneath a branching cedar, and 
placed a slab at his head, to tell his name and how he died. 

This even was a satisfaction to poor Karl, for he felt that his 
brother was not huddled into the common pit, where hundreds 
are flung in to rot together, but had a decent grave to himself. 

It is an affecting sight to witness the removal of the dead and 
wounded from a battle-field, and the manner in which the 
foKmer are interred. In some cases, deep pits are sunk, and, 
perhaps, a hundred or more bodies are flung promiscuously into 
it, as if no one owned them, or cared for them. 

In other cases, where the bodies had been recognized, they 
were buried with some semblance of decency. I was once 
riding with a column over a battle-field, in which the skeletons 
of the hastily buried dead were partly exposed. 

The arm and hand of a man protruded from one of these 
sunken graves. 



180 Sherman's march through the south. 

" Arrali, Bill," exclaimed one Irishman to another, " could 
you telf me what that man has his hand up for ? " 

" Faith, in troth, I don't know, if it ain't for his back pay 
and bounty," was the reply. 

I have often met skeletons in the woods, with the bones 
stretched out, and the old rotten knapsacks under the heads, 
and the remnants of the clothes still clinging around the bones. 

These were poor fellows who got wounded in the heat of 
battle, and retired to the shelter of the forest. Here they lay ; 
and not being discovered, and being unable to get away, they 
died, inch by inch, for carrion birds to pick their bodies. What 
must be the suffering of these poor fellows, with their festering 
wounds, crawling with maggots, without a hand to tend them, 
without a drop of water to cool their parched lips, with the 
ravens and turkey-buzzards croaking around them, watching, 
until they would be too helpless to defend themselves, to pounce 
on them, and pluck out their eyes, or drag the quivering flesh 
from their frames. 

I have seen others, particularly at the battle of Chancellors- 
ville, who fell, wounded, out in the woods, and who were 
burned up when the woods took fire, and whom we could not 
assist, as the rebel skirmishers and sharpshooters took down 
every man who dared to put out his head. 

Their shrieks and groans, as they writhed in the fiery furnace, 
still ring in my ears. 



DEFENCES OP ATLANTA. 181 



CHAPTER XVI. 

UI^rSUCCESSFUL CAVALRY RAIDS OF McCOOK AND STONEMAN.— 
CHANGE OF COMMANDERS. — HOWARD'S APPOINTMENT AND 
HOOKER'S RESIGNATION. — THE BATTLE OF PROCTOR'S CREEK. 

Hood's attempt on our left being frustrated, he fell back to 
his inner line of works, while our lines tightened upon him at 
all points. The works around Atlanta were of the most for- 
midable nature. 

Deep lines of intrenchments, with forts and gabions, pro- 
tected by palisades, clievaux-de-frise, and pits, in their front, 
faced us on all sides. In these were several sallying-points, 
from which the skirmishers and sharpshooters could deploy. 

Sherman too well comprehended the impossibility of taking 
such works by assault ; so he devised a new plan of action. He 
issued an order to the army of the Tennessee to be ready to 
vacate its line, and to shift by the right flank below Proctor's 
Creek, and move to our extreme right. 

At the same time Generals Schofield and Thomas extended 
their line towards the Augusta road. 

Sherman's intentions were to swing the army to the rear of 
Hood, so as to operate on the East Point road. At the same 
time he had in operation a great cavalry raid on the enemy's 
rear. To General Stoneman he gave the command of his own 
and General Gerrard's cavalry, making an effective force of 
about five thousand men ; and to General McCook he assigned 
the command of the cavalry returned by Rousseau, under com- 
mand of Colonel Harrison, and the 8th Indiana cavalry, mak- 
ing an aggregate of four thousand, or a total of about nine 
thousand cavalry. 

With these two formidable bodies, which were to act in 
16 



182 Sherman's march through the south. 

concert, — Stoneman to the left of Atlanta, by McDonongli Sta- 
tion, atfd McCook on Fayetteville, — he expected to whip 
"Wheeler's cavalry, and destroy the remaining routes to Atlanta 
by railroad. General Stoneman requested permission to be 
allowed to proceed to Macon and Anderson to release the Fed- 
eral prisoners confined in those prisons. Sherman left this at 
his own discretion, in case he felt he was able to do so after the 
defeat of Wheeler's cavalry, but, at the same time, allowing 
Gerrard's cavalry to fall back in time to cover his flank. 

Both cavalry expeditions started at the same time, and both 
proved more or less a failure. McCook succeeded in returning 
with his command, but with a heavy loss of both men and ma- 
terial. Stoneman had the most of his command cut up or 
captured, while he himself remained a prisoner in the hands 
of the enemy. 

Before I proceed with the siege of Atlanta, I will give a 
short account of those two expeditions, as they form an im- 
portant part of the campaign. 

McCooh^s Cavalry Raid. 

On the morning of the 27th July, General McCook broke 
camp at Mason's Seminary, near Sweetwater Town, on the 
Chattahoochee. His command consisted of two brigades, com- 
manded by Colonel Cloxton and Lieutenant Colonel Torrey, and 
also Colonel Harrison's command, which had lately returned 
from Rousseau's raid, and comprised the 8th Indiana, 2d Ken- 
tucky, 5th Iowa, 4th Tennessee, and 9th Ohio. 

McCook crossed Sweetwater on the main road leading to 
Villaricka. 

After meeting some slight resistance in crossing the Chatta- 
hoochee, the command moved on two parallels for Palmetto, 
skirmishing with Armstrong's brigade all the way. 

At Palmetto they tore up about two miles of the railroad, 
and burned about fifty railroad cars, a large supply of commis- 
sary stores, and over five hundred bales of cotton. 

They next struck for Lovejoy, over nasty broken roads and 
a very densely wooded country. On the morning of the 29th 



M 'cook's raid. 183 

they surprised a large "baggage train, and burned about one 
hundred and fifty wagons, and shot about six hundred mules. 

Generals Hardee, Loring, and Stewart's headquarter wagons 
were among the lot. 

They next struck Fayetteville, where they captured over four 
hundred men and officers, and thence marched for Lovejoy, on 
the Macon line, destroying about two miles of the track and 
telegraph wire. 

According to the programme laid down by Sherman, Stone- 
man and McCook were to form a junction on the night of July 
28th, on the Macon road, near Lovejoy, and effectually de- 
stroy it. 

McCook now found that a large cavalry force intervened be- 
tween himself and Stoneman, while another force was pressing 
on his rear, thus preventing the possibility of a junction ; so he 
had to wheel by the flank for Newman. 

Near Lovejoy, the 8th Iowa became engaged with the ene- 
my, and was soon supported by the whole brigade. Kelly's 
rebel brigade had encountered them, and a sharp fight ensued, 
with little advantage at either side. 

McCook crossed the Flint River, near Whitewater Creek, 
without opposition, though the enemy was all the time hanging 
on his flank and rear. Near Glen Grove, the 4tli Kentucky, 
which formed the rear guard, and was commanded by Lieuten- 
ant Colonel Kelly, was attacked by two brigades of cavalry, and 
after making a desperate stand, was repulsed with considerable 
loss. The main body was all this time too hotly pressed 
to come to their relief. Early next morning, August 1, the 
advance struck Newman, but was there confronted with Roddy's 
command, of about one thousand infantry, to which command 
he had been lately transferred. These were on their way to 
Atlanta, to reenforce Hood, and took up a position commanding 
the main road, along which McCook was marching. The rebel 
cavalry were now pressing McCook on all sides, with Roddy 
blocking up his advance — rather his retreat. The 2d Kentucky 
were deployed to open the road to the left of the town, so as to 
allow the main body to swing round on Roddy's flank, and 



184 Sherman's march through the south. 

force a passage towards the river. Major Starr commanded 
this brilliant, destructive, but successful charge. After cutting 
through lioddy's lines, they were confronted by a new line, of 
dismounted cavalry. Captain Mitchell, of McCook's staif, here 
came up with reenforcements, and both combined charged on 
the second line, and, after repeated assaults and repulses, suc- 
ceeded in breaking it. The second brigade had now formed 
line in advance, and encountered an assault of the enemy, 
which was sustained with desperate force, both by their mounted 
and dismounted cavalry. 

General McCook, finding himself sorely pressed, ordered his 
ambulances and prisoners into a valley, under cover. The 8th 
Iowa made here another charge, but, not being supported, were 
mostly all captured. In their former charge they captured 
Brigadier General Eoss. 

The enemy had now almost encircled McCook, who, seeing 
his desperate situation, threw forward a heavy line of dis- 
mounted skirmishers, supported by mounted men, and a section 
of artillery. 

Our batteries opened a heavy fire of canister on the rebels, 
checking their advance. 

A desperate assault, headed by Colonel Harrison, and Gen- 
eral McCook's staif, was now made, which succeeded in repuls- 
ing the enemy ; but, unfortunately, the brave Colonel Harrison 
fell into their hands. 

The enemy soon rallied, and swept down upon our front. 
General McCook ordered the 2d Indiana cavalry to meet the 
charge, which they did with good effect. 

The enemy were closing in their circle, and McCook, finding 
there was no other way of escape but by cutting his way 
through, spiked his guns, released his prisoners, abandoned his 
wagons and ambulances, and rallied his command for one final 
charge. 

It was gallantly made and desperately sustained ; but though 
hundreds fell, the main part succeeded in cutting their way 
through and through. 

McCook, with his shattered command, succeeded in crossing 



stoneivun's raid. 185 

the Chattahoochee, near Bushy Creek, and reached Marietta 
on the 3d of August, -with about sixteen hundred men. 

Large squads came in for days afterwards ; but numbers, 
including one whole regiment, had been picked up by the enemy. 

Stoneman*s Baid. 

Major Greneral Stoneman started from Decatur on the morn- 
ing of the 27th July, with the following forces : — 

First brigade, commanded by Colonel Adams ; the second 
brigade, comprising the 5th and 6th Indiana, Colonel Biddle ; 
the 14th Illinois, 8th Michigan, and McLoughlan's Ohio squad- 
ron, formed the third brigade, commanded by Colonel Capron. 

The command took the Georgia Railroad, towards Coving- 
ton, thence south by Monticello, capturing a large number of 
horses, and about three hundred negroes, whom they mounted 
on the prizes. At Macon a battalion Of the 14th Illinois made 
a dash on a station called Gordon, near the Oconee River, 
destroying eleven locomotives and several trains loaded with 
quartermasters* and commissary stores. 

When near Macon, General Stoneman learned that all the 
prisoners had been sent to Charleston the day previous, and the 
garrison considerably reenforced. Up to this he had encoun- 
tered very little resistance, but now he found a strong garrison 
in his front, with cavalry wheeling on his flank and rear. 
Stoneman sent out heavy skirmish lines to develop the enemy^s 
strength, but soon encomitered General Iverson's cavalry in 
force. 

This was between Clinton and Hillsborough, and about fifteen 
miles from Macon. 

The country around here was very unfavorable for cavalry 
operations, and he soon found Allan's brigade of infantiy had 
wheeled on his flank, and taken up position on the main road, 
thus cutting off his retreat. 

Armstrong's brigade of cavalry, comprising the Ist and 2d 
Kentucky, had wheeled in on his left flank, thus completely 
hemming him in. The 1st and 2d Kentucky, of Adams's bri- 
gade, encountered their rebel namesakes, and both fought with 
16* 



186 Sherman's march through the south. 

all the 4,esperation of contending soldiers, embittered "by personal 
animosities. Stoneman now dismounte-d some of his troops, 
who repeatedly charged the enemy in front, but were each time 
repulsed. A panic seemed to seize the troops on all sides. 
They were rallied by Stoneman and staff, who charged at their 
head, but were driven back in disorder. Soon the enemy dashed 
on his flanks, while the infantry and a batteiy kept sweeping 
the lines in front. 

Despite the example and exhortations of their officers, the 
men refused to charge. Major Keogh, of Stoneman's staff, 
dashed in front, trying to rally the men ; and having partially 
succeeded, went right upon the enemy, but was met by a deri- 
sive cheer and sweeping fire. 

lie was soon deserted, except by some officers. This small, 
Spartan band swept down upon the enemy, and for a moment 
appeared successful ; but many a saddle having been emptied, 
the gallant few returned, among whom was their brave leader, 
Major Keogh. 

The enemy were now sweeping the lines on all sides with 
artilleiy, infantry, and cavalry. The led horses broke loose, 
and the frightened negroes rushed frantically about, adding con- 
siderably to the confusion. 

Stoneman now ordered all the commanders to rally their 
troops, and cut their way through as well as they pould ; as for 
himself, he was resolved on surrendering. Several remonstrated, 
stating there was yet a chance of making their escape ; but 
he could not be prevailed on to do so. Major Keogh and sev- 
eral more refused to abandon him, though they saw a prospect 
of escape. 

Colonel Adams and his brigade made an escape almost 
intact. Colonel Capron's brigade also made its escape, but 
halted at night, and overpowered by sleep and fatigue, and, I 
fear, by something stronger, too, they slept so soundly that they 
only awoke in the morning to the clangor and clash of arms. 

They had neither sentries, pickets, nor patroles out ; or, if 
they liad, they slept so soundly that they did not feel the rebel 
cavalry sweeping over them. 



FAILURE OP STONEMAN's RAID. 187 

One scene of -vvild confnsion followed ; nien jnmpcd from 
their sleep and rubbed their eyes, but were soon cleft down, 
while others awoke in the other world. The majority of the 
brigade was -either captured or slain ; only a small portion made 
their escape. It is said that General Stoneman sat down on a 
tree and wept. 

This raid liad proved a great failure, McCook succeeded 
in doing material injury to the enemy, and, though surrounded, 
cutting his way through, saving the most of his command. 
Stoneman appeared to have got into a perfect trap, while his 
men became unmanageable. 

Indeed, some accounts state that they imbibed too freely 
the apple-jack and peach brandy with which the citizens lib- 
erally supplied them. 

Somehow there appeared to be a want of cooperation among 
the different raiding parties that started under such favorable 
auspices ; the only one that succeeded effectually being that of 
Rousseau, who went out on his own responsibility. There was 
to be a joint cooperation between McCook, Stoneman, and 
Gerrard. 

McCook owed his safety to desperate fighting. General 
Gerrard moved to Flat Rock, to cover Stoneman's movement to 
McDonough. Here Stoneman was to join him ; but he wheeled 
off towards Covington, and Gerrard had to return. Thus the 
three columns were isolated, and afforded an easy prey to the 
enemy, who seemed perfectly aware of our movements, and 
was fully prepared to meet them. 

Since the fight of the 22d, no important movements took 
place in Atlanta. The usual daily amount of skirmishing and 
artillery firing continued. We had pushed our works quite 
close to the rebels at several points, and had got our lines pretty 
well around Atlanta. Hood must have been considerably weak- 
ened after his late assaults on our lines. The buttles of the 
20tli and 22d fully proved our superiority over the rebels in 
fair, open fight. Though, in both cases, they took us partly by 
surprise, unprotected by defensive works of any amount, which 
gave them a decided advantage iu the beginning of the fight> 



188 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

yet tliey. were ultimately repulsed "with wholesale slaughter. 
Had we got such an advantage over them, we would have 
broken through theii* lines, crushed in their flanks, and swept 
them before us. 

In the mountain regions, jungles, and defiles, through which 
we had passed, their natural strongholds, aided by formiilablc 
works, enabled them to annoy and often to repulse our advancing 
columns ; but here the tables were turned. Hood was forced 
to come out of his intrenchments and fight us on open ground, 
or give us the chance of doing, what we ultimately did, namely, 
wheel round to our right and destroy the only running line of 
communication he had open. 

About this time some important changes were made in com- 
manders. Major General 0.0. Howard was appointed to the 
command of the army of the Tennessee, in place of the lamented 
General McPherson. 

General Howard had seen much service, both in the ^rmy of 
the Potomac and in the western armies. He served all through 
the peninsular campaign, and lost his right arm at Fair Oaks. 
He also commanded at Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettys- 
burg. Since his transfer to the western army, he served through 
all its trying campaigns, and confirmed his high reputation as a 
brave and efficient general. He succeeded General Granger in the 
command of the 4th corps, and served with Sherman all through 
the desperate and protracted campaign from Chattanooga, in 
which his noble corps took a leading part, hanging fiercely on 
the enemy's rear in their retreat from Rocky Face Ridge to 
Resaca. General Howard is not only a cautious general, but 
also a thorough patriot and practical soldier. Kind and cour- 
teous to all, his orders are obeyed with alacrity, while his 
Christian example has had a most salutary effect on his com- 
mand. 

General Joe Hooker, feeling slighted at Howard's appoint- 
ment, who was his junior, resigned. 

There is but one opinion regarding Hooker while serving in 
the western armies. No man could do better. His gallant 
corps, the 20th, distinguished itself in the present campaign, and 



CHAI^GB OF COMMANDERS. 189 

has suffered fearfully. Since the day it stormed tbe granite 
heights of Lookout Mountain, until it hurled back the rebel 
tide at Peach-tree Creek, it knew no rest. His men were 
devotedly attached to him, and actually wept when he left. 

The command of the <lth corps now devolved on Major Gen- 
eral Stanly, a well-tried and' efficient officer. Stanly was 
best known as a cavalry officer ; in this branch he had few su- 
periors. He distinguished himself with the 4th corps in its 
many fights, and commanded that corps at the desperate battle 
of Franklin, where he got wounded through the neck. 

Major General Slocum was appointed to the command of the 
20th corps. General Slocum was then in Vicksburg, in the 
capture of which city he took a prominent part. 

General Slocum's reputation was best known in conjunction 
with the old 12th corps, which he commanded in many a 
stubborn battle in Virginia and Maryland. His services in the 
west, though of recent date, had so far won the admiration of 
General Sherman that he at once had him appointed to the 
command of the 20th corps. General Williams was now com- 
manding the corps in his absence. 

General Palmer also resigned the command of the 14th 
corps, and General Jefferson C. Davis was promoted to that 
command. 

General Davis was a dashing officer; but his unfortunate 
affair with the hectoring bully Nelson seemed to retard his 
career. 

The Augusta line was now thoroughly broken up for miles, 
cross-ties burned, and rails bent in all kinds of fantastic shapes. 
There was no danger that it could be replaced, and Sherman's 
object was to extend his right flank, so as to command the 
Macon line, on the western side of Atlanta. 

The army of the Tennessee broke camp on our extreme 
left flank on the night of the 26th, and noiselessly marched 
around our lines to the extreme right, to operate on the Macon 
and Atlanta Railroad. Schofield now refused the left of his 
line, and Kirby's and Taylor's brigades of the 4th corps took 
up position on his extreme left, partly eiieclielon, occupying the 



190 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

old Ime of rebel works, thus pre^-enting all chances of a flank 
movement by the enemy on that point. 

On the morning of the 2 7th Major General Ho^vard received his 
appointment as commander of the department of the Tennessee, 
and, accompanied by his personal staff and his brother Colonel 
Hovvard, who had served beside him from the first Bull Run 
battle to the present time, proceeded to take charge of his new 
command, now in line of march, and make preparations for the 
coming battle, which appeared imminent. 

Dodge's corps alone arrived in time to take up position on 
the evening of the 27th. General Howard, in person, located 
them on the right, and considerably in advance of the 14th 
corps, which had formed our extreme right. Early next 
morning Blair took position on the right of the 16th corps, thus 
extending our line within a few miles of the Macon line. 
Logan took position on the right of Blair, but so refused as to 
cover the right flank and prevent a repetition of the 22d. 
Davis's old division of the 14th corps was expected up to cover 
the right flank, but did not arrive in time. 

Howard's line now was something in the shape of a horse- 
shoe, with the toe to the enemy, and resting on a wooded ridge 
with partly open fields in front. Howard, finding the enemy 
making demonstrations, and fearing that they would strike him 
before he got into position, had to move cautiously until he 
occupied the hill, which he at once intrenched. 

A rebel battery was all this time playing on his advance. 
General Logan was ordered to capture this. Logan threw for- 
ward his skirmish lines, and his sharpshooters soon silenced the 
guns ; he also soon brought a battery to bear on that point. 

General Howard, finding the rebels massing in his front, 
with the evident intention of trying his flank, sent out his escort 
as vedettes, for he had no cavalry, to watch the enemy's move- 
ments. About 10 o'clock he went to the right to reconnoitre, 
and try to ascertain the point where the enemy were likely to 
assault. On his right was an open plain, which his artillery 
commanded ; so he felt satisfied they could not charge over that. 
Soon after the enemy, in massed columns, burst on Logan's 



REPULSE OP THE REBELS. 191 

front. Two regiments, which Logan had sent out to capture 
the guns, were Urst struck, and fell back to the main lines. 
This encouraged the enemy to follow up the assault at this 
point. General Howard ordered up his reserve to support 
Logan, and prolong his right for fear of being turned. 

The attack on Logan was fierce and heavy. One continual 
fire of musketry and artillery ran along his line. The enemy, 
though repeatedly repulsed, still continued to charge upon his 
lines, where they were literally mowed down ; some being bay- 
oneted, others clubbed. 

After every assault they fell back, leaving in our hands tro- 
phies, such as colors captured, officers, and men. This desperate 
conflict continued, with slight intermission, from 1 1 to near 4. 
The muskets of the troops got foul several times from the rapid 
firing, and regiment after regiment, brigade after brigade, and 
division after division, had to be replaced. 

After sustaining several heavy repulses, and being severely 
cut up and exhausted, the rebels fell back, leaving their dead 
and wounded, several stands of colors, and a large number of 
prisoners in our hands. General Logan handled his troops 
admirably, behaving with great gallantry, and exposing himself 
to the enemy's fire. After the battle, as he and General How- 
ard were riding along the lines, they were received with loud 
cheers. 

The attack was chiefly confined to Logan's corps. Blair and 
Dodge w^ere only partially engaged, just enough to cause a di- 
version in favor of Logan. The heaviest fighting w^as along the 
Lick Skillet road, which was occupied by Stewart's and Lee's 
corps. Our loss, all counted, was calculated at about one thou- 
sand. The rebel loss I should set down as over three thousand. 

Among their wounded were Lieutenant Generals Stewart 
and Loring, also Brigadier Generals Kector, Sphral, Brown, 
and Walthall. 



192 



CHAPTER XVII. 

SHELLING ATLANTA. — A SCOUT'S EXPEKIENCE OF HANGING.— 
THE LADY MAJOR. 

While Howard's engagement was raging on our right, a 
vigorous demonstration was taking place along our lines ; the 
artillery had opened with shot and shell upon the city. Our 
skirmishers pressed on the enemy's at various points. Indeed, 
the skirmishing in front of the 4th corps swelled almost into 
the magnitude of a battle. 

Major General Stanly brought his artillery into position, 
and kept up a warm fire. 

General Thomas J. Wood's division captured the rifle-pits 
in his front, one line of works, and about fifty prisoners. 

From several points along the lines w^e could plainly see 
the doomed city, with the smoke of burning houses and bursting 
shells enveloping it in one black canopy, hanging over it like a 
funeral pall. 

The scene at night was sublimely grand and terrific ! The 
din of artillery rang on the night air. In front of General 
Geary's headquarters was a prominent hill, from which we had 
a splendid view of the tragedy enacting before us. One night 
I sat there with the general and staff, and several other officers, 
while a group of men sat hear us enjoying the scene, and spec- 
ulating on the effects of the shells. It was a lovely, still night, 
with the stars twinkling in the sky. The lights frona the camp- 
fires along the hills and valleys, and from amidst the trees, 
glimmered like the gas-lights of a city in the distance. We 
could see the dark forms reclining around them, and mark the 
solemn tread of the sentinel on his beat. A rattle of musketry 
rang from some point along the line. It was a false alarm. 



ATLANTA SHELLED. 193 

The men for a moment listened, and then renewed their song 
and revelry, which was for a while interrupted. The song, and 
music, and laughter floated to our ears from the city of camps, 
that dotted the country all round. 

Sherman had lately ordered from Chattanooga a battery of 
four and a half inch rifles, and these were trying their metal 
on the city. 

Several batteries, forts, and bastions joined in the fierce cho- 
rus. Shells flew from the batteries, up through the air, whiz- 
zing and shrieking, until they reached a point over the devoted 
city, when down they went, hurling the fragments, and leaving 
in their train a balloon-shaped cloud of smoke. From right, 
and left, and centre flew these dread missiles, all converging 
towards the city. From our commanding position we could see 
the flash from the guns, then the shells, with their burning fuses, 
hurtling through the air like flying meteors. 

"I hain't no objection to be out of that 'ere place," said a 
soldier in the group near us, who were also intently looking on. 

*' Kather hot, I guess," said another. 

" A little too much so to be healthy, I reckon," was the 
response. 

" What matter whether one is killed there or here ? We must 
all die when our time comes," said a fatalist. 

" I have no objection to wait for my time, and not go meet 
it half ways," said the general's cook. 

"You," said a patriot, with disdain, "you don't feel that it 
is sweet to die for one's country." 

" Be gor, then, as for myself, I'd sooner live for my country, 
any day, than die for it," replied a wit from the Emerald Isle. 

" Where is the difference ? " replied the fatalist, who also ap- 
peared to be something of a deist, " we are all born to die ; 
and must die ; death is but a sleep, a rest. What does it mat- 
ter whether we sleep to-night or twenty years hence ? We can't 
die until our time comes." 

" Then you think that we will all die at a certain time? " 

" Certainly," replied the fatalist, gravely. 

" Bosh ! then do you mean to tell me that all the men that 
17 



194 shekman's maech through the south. 

have been killed in this war would die, had they remained at 
home?" 

*' Certainly not ; but the war was made for them, or, rather, 
they for the war ; so they could not avoid it ; it is all fate." 

*' By George, I believe you're right," said another ; *' at the 
battle of Resaca my musket dropped out of my hand, and I 
stooped to pick it up, and a cannon ball came over my head, 
killing the two men behind me." 

" All chance ; nothing more." 

This philosophical conversation might have continued much 
longer, had not a dark volume of smoke shot up from the city 
in one vast spiral column ; and then came a dead, heavy, rum- 
bling report. One of the arsenals was blown up by a shell. 
This was followed by a fierce fire, which shot up, almost simul- 
taneously, in different points. A cheer came from our batteries, 
and was taken up along the whole line. 

" War is a cruelty," said the general beside me ; "we know 
not how many innocents are now suffering in this miserable city." 

" I'm dog gone if I like it," said a soldier, slapping his 
brawny hand upon his thigh ; "1 can fight my weight of rattle- 
snakes, scaramouches, or sneaking rebels ; but this tiling of 
smoking out women and children, darn me if it's fair." 

" Psha ! " exclaimed an orderly near us, on whom the general 
placed great reliance as a scout, and who went through some 
hair-breadth escapes ; " the women are the worst of them ; one 
of them put the rope once on my neck to hang me." 

" Indeed ! how was that, Bentley?" 

" At the battle of Peach-tree Creek I got captured, and was 
brought before General Hood to be pumped ; and as he could 
not get anything out of me, he had ordered me back to the other 
prisoners, when an officer, attended by an escort, rode up and 
saluted the general. 

"'Ha! Mademoiselle Major, how do you do?' i*eplied the 
general, dofiing his hat. 

" ' Well, general ; ' and she jumped off her horse, throwing 
the bridle to her orderly, and politely returned the salute. 

" The she-major was strangely dressed ; she wore a cap 



THE LADY MAJOR. 195 

decked with feathers and gold lace, flowing pants, "vvith a full 
kind of velvet coat coming jfist below her hips, and fastened 
with a rich crimson sash, and partly open at the bosom. 

'' In her belt she carried a revolver, and by her side a regula- 
tion sword. I looked at her ; her features were rather sun- 
burned, giving her a manly appearance. Only for her voluptuous 
bust, little hands, and peculiar airs, I might have taken her to 
be a very handsome little officer of the masculine gender. 

" As I gazed at her, she looked full into my face ; and turning 
to the general, she pointed her whip at me, and asked, ' Who 
is that fellow, general ? ' 

" ' A prisoner that has just come in — a dunce ; I couldn't get 
a word out of him.* 

" ' Indeed, general, that is a spy ; ' and she again pointed her 
whip at me. 

" ' O, no ; he is only just brought in captured.' 

" ' That may be ; but he is a spy. I saw him at General 
Johnston's, one day, and he was full of lying information, which 
cost the general many a life.' 

*" Is that so?' said the general. 

'"On my honor ; come here, Hartly ; ' and she called over 
her orderly. * Did you ever see that man before ? ' 

" ' Yes, Mademoiselle Major.' 

"'Where?' 

" ' At General Johnston's, where he was giving information 
as a scout.' 

'* ' What have you to say to all this, my man?' said the gen- 
eral. 

" I had nothing to say, for it ^vas true. 

" ' What shall I do with him ; shall I hang him?' said the 
general. 

" ' Give him to me,' said she, with a sweet smije ; ' I am going 
to General Johnston's ; it might be well to take him there.' 

"'I make you a present of him,' said the general. 

"After spending some time with the general in the tent, she 
came out, and placing me between herself and her orderly, rode 
off. When, she came into the wood, she and her orderly alighted, 



196 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

and sha pulled out from under her dress a strong, but fine, 
rope. 

" ' Sneaking dog of a Yankee ! ' she exclaimed, looking at 
me with a vengeful eye, * you hung the only man I ever loved ; 
I swore I'd have vengeance. I have had it ; but I have it 
doubly now, by giving you a similar death.* 

" My hands, all this time, were firmly tied, so I was power- 
less. While the orderly stood with a pistol before me, she tied 
the rope firmly around my neck, giving it several good pulls, to 
make sure it was all right. They then helped me to get up on 
the saddle of one of the horses, so as to have a fall, while the 
orderly proceeded up the tree to tie the rope to a limb. 

'' Now was my time. While the orderly was climbing, I 
flung my two hands across the rope, and snatched it from him, 
jumped into the saddle, and drove my heels furiously into the 
horse's side, which made him plunge and rear. She held him 
bravely with one hand, while pulling out her pistol with the 
other. Before she could fire, I got a chance, and struck her 
with my heavy boot right in the face, spoiling her beauty, and 
giving the dentist a job. She fell. The horse bounded off with 
me, and I escaped. 

" After that, I believe I would swear against women in gen- 
eral, had not a woman saved my life in return. 

" I could not get off the mide chain with which she fastened 
my hands, though I tugged until the blood was oozing out of 
them, and my teeth filed almost to the gums. The cord, too, 
vms so firmly tied to my neck that I could not get rid of it. 
There I was, like a half-strangled whelp, with all my creden- 
tials about me. I had no control over my horse ; so, fearing 
that he would take me back to the rebel lines, I slipped from 
him, and skulked away as well as I could. I got into a little 
by-road, and thought I would venture up to a shanty where I 
saw some nigger children playing around the door. They ran 
in, frightened, when they saw my hands tied, and I trailing my 
rope. 

" I followed them in, when — heavens, how I shook ! — there 
were two rebel soldiers, drinking some whiskey. 



THE COMPASSIONATE LADY. 197 

" * Hilloo ! ' said one, ' here is a d — d Yank, that cheated 
the gallows ; well, I hain't against a man settling his accounts ; 
so we'll take care of him until he gets another swing.' 

" They questioned me, and taunted me with brutal jeers and 
laughs. 

"At length they took me away ; and not having enough of 
whiskey to get there, they called to another house for more. 
To make the more sure of me, they locked me into a dark room 
without any window, so that I could not possibly escape, while 
they were enjoying their debauch. 

" For a time I heard the drunken soldiers, noisy, and sing- 
ing ; and then they evidently had fallen asleep, for I heard 
their loud snores. 

" It was now a bit into the night. I presumed they had 
made up their minds to remain where they were ; so I threw 
myself down, and tried to sleep. Though death stared me in 
the face, I had fallen into a sound slumber, when I felt myself 
gently shook oy the shoulder. I locked up, saying, 'I'm 
ready ; ' but instead of the two drunken soldiers, a gentle young 
woman stood over me, with a shaded light in her hands. 

"' Make no noise," she whispered, 'but get up.' I looked 
at her as I sat up. She took a knife and cut the cord from my 
neck, and then tried to open the chain. 

" ' Your poor hands are all torn,' said she, compassionately, 
as she unloosed the bloody chain. 

"'Alas! yes,' said I; 'but why do you try to save me?* 

" ' Because I am a woman, and true to the instincts of a 
woman, which is to save and not to kill. Poor boy ! some sis- 
ter or mother would fret for you. If you should ever meet one 
in such a situation, do as much for him. Now go, but very 
quietly.' 

" ' But you ! will they hurt you ? ' 

" ' No, no. I know them ; it would not do for them to quar- 
rel with me ; follow me.' 

" I glided through the kitchen ; the two rebels were sleeping 
beside the fire. I passed out, then imprinted a grateful kiss 
upon my deliverer's cheek, fled, and got into camp next day." 
17* 



19B SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 

THE SIEGE CONTINUED. — SHARPSHOOTERS FRATERNIZING. — A 
MILITARY GAME OF CHESS BETWEEN SHERMAN AND HOOD.— 
SHERMAN WINS THE GAME, AND ATLANTA TOO. — CAVALRY 
RAIDS OF KILPATRICK AND WHEELER. — THE DECISIVE BAT- 
TLE OF JONESBORO'. — ATLANTA OCCUPIED BY OUR TROOPS. 

In the beginning of August, the fighting around Atlanta had 
settled down to a regular siege. Every day had its skirmish- 
ing, its artillery duels, and an assault and repulse. Like another 
Troy, the enemy fought outside their walls and intrenchments, 
and many an amusing combat took place, particularly between 
the skirmishers. I have often seen a rebel and a Federal soldier 
making right for the same rifle-pit, their friends on both sides 
loudly cheering them on. As they would not have time to fight, 
they reserved their fire until they got into the pit, when woe betide 
the laggard, for the other was sure to pop him as soon as he got 
into cover. Sometimes they got in together, and then came the 
tug of war ; for they fought for possession with their bayonets 
and closed fists. In some cases, however, they made a truce, 
and took joint possession of it. 

It was no unusual thing to see our pickets and skirmishers 
enjoying themselves very comfortably with the rebels, drinking 
bad whiskey, smoking and chewing worse tobacco, and trading 
cofiee and other little articles. The rebels had no coffee, and our 
men plenty, while the rebels had plenty of whiskey ; so they 
very soon came to an understanding. It was strange to see 
these men, who had been just pitted in deadly conflict, trading, 
and bantering, and chatting, as if they were the best friends in 
the world. They discussed a battle with the same gusto they 
would a cock-fight, or horse-race, and made inquiries about their 



TRADE BETWEEN YANKEES AND REBELS. 199 

friends, as to who was killed, and who not, in the respective 
armies. Friends that have been separated for years have met 
in this way. Brothers who parted to try their fortune have often 
met on the picket line, or on the battle-field. I once met a Ger- 
man soldier with the head of a dying rebel on his lap. The 
stern veteran was weeping, whilst the boy on his knee looked 
pityingly into his face. They were speaking in German, and 
from my poor knowledge of the language, all I could make out 
was, that they were brothers ; that the elder had come out here 
several years before ; the younger followed him, and being in- 
formed that he was in Macon, he went in search of him, and 
got conscripted ; while the elder brother, who was in the north 
all the time, joined our army. The young boy was scarcely 
twenty, with light hair, and a soft, fair complexion. The pallor 
of death was on his brov/, and the blood was flowing from his 
breast, and gurgled in his throat and mouth, which the other 
wiped away with his handkerchief. When he could speak, the 
dying youth's conversation was of the old home in Germany, of 
his brothers and sisters, and dear father and mother, who were 
never to see him again. 

In those improvised truces, the best possible faith was observed 
by the men. These truces were brought about chiefly in the fol- 
lowing manner. A rebel, v/ho was heartily tired of his crippled 
position in his pit, would call out, "I say, Yank ! " 

" Well, Johnny Reb," would echo from another hole or tree. 

" I'm going to put out my head ; don't shoot." 

^' Well, I won't." 

The reb would pop up his head ; the Yank would do the same. 

" Hain't you got any coflee, Johnny?" 

" Na'r a bit, but plenty of rot-gut." 

" All right ; we'll have a trade." 

They would meet, while several others would follow the ex- 
ample, until there would be a regular bartering mart established. 
In some cases the men would come to know each other so well, 
that they v^^ould often call out, — 

" Look out, reb ; we're going to shoot," or, " Look out, Yank, 
we're going to shoot," as the case may be. 



200 SHERMiiN'S MAECH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

On one occasion the men were holding a friendly reunion of 
this Gort, when a rebel major came doA\Ti in a great fury, and 
orderccl the men back. As they were going back, he ordered 
them to fire on the Federals. They refused, as they had made 
a truce. The major swore and stormed, and in his rage he 
snatched the gun from one of the men, and fired at a Federal 
soldier, v/ounding him. A cry of execration at such a breach 
of faith rose from all the men, and they called out, " Yanks, 
we couldn't help it." At night these men deserted into our lines, 
assigning as a reason, that they could not with honor serve any 
longer in an army that thus violated private truces. 

After their late bloody repulses, the rebels seemed to lose 
heart altogether, and the desertions were very numerous. While 
on the Chattahoochee, a camp of rebel conscripts on the Hen- 
dersons ville road, seven miles from Atlanta, was abandoned, and 
nearly five hundred of them came into our lines. 

As I have said before, we had now settled down to a regular 
siege, pounding away at the beleaguered city on every side. Hood 
had his intrenchments and forts garrisoned with militia, conva- 
lescents, and some worthless conscripts, and had kept the 
veteran troops on hand to operate when required ; they, having 
the arc of a circle to act on, could hurriedly move from point 
to point. 

Our heavy shelling was regularly replied to by the enemy, 
who revealed some heavy guns. I weighed one projectile ; it 
weighed sixty-four pounds. It had plunged in among our tents at 
General Thomas J. Wood's headquarters, but fortunately did not 
burst, but made a regular fuss and a scare, kicking up a whole 
lot of puddle ; in fact, conducting itself like a miniature vol- 
cano. 

General Sherman, finding that the right of the army of the 
Tennessee did not extend to the Western Railroad, ordered 
General Schofield to shift from the extreme left to the right, and 
General Gerrard's cavahy to take up Schofield's place. Next 
he ordered the 14th corps to follow, and move in on the extreme 
right, below Utoy Creek. The aim of these movements was 
to get possession of the railroad between Atlanta and East Point. 



MILITARY GAME OP CHESS. 201 

This accomplished, Atlanta should fall. Right before us, within 
a few miles of our lines, almost within reach of our guns, runs 
this great life artery of the rebel city. Once cut this jugular 
vein, and Atlanta speedily falls. Sherman knew this well, and 
tlierefore turned all his attention to it ; the rebels knew it well, 
and therefore were exceedingly vigilant and active to resist all 
our attempts upon it. They left their strong works to be guard- 
ed by the militia and conscripts, and followed up our move- 
ments with the utmost promptness and daring. It was evident 
now that the battle would not come off before Atlanta. Per- 
haps Sherman could take it by direct assault ; but we had learned 
that assaults were always costly, even when successful. Sher- 
man was cautious and wary, pushing his skirmishers everywhere, 
beating all bushes, and suspicious nooks and dells. Hood, on the 
other hand, was watchful to counteract any movement of his wily 
foe. It was a great game of chess. Hood had castled, and 
Sherman moved to checkmate him. This had continued so 
long that we were getting tired of it ; so the indication of a 
new move on Sherman's part was hailed "wdth delight. It ap- 
peared now that his tactics were to bring corps after corps from 
the left to the right wing, in the hopes that the rebels would 
draw off their forces from the city to oppose us, and thus leave 
it open to attack on the north. But they, having the inner line, 
and having been considerably reeniorced, continued to keep their 
works strongly garrisoned, and also to confront us at every ad- 
vance we made on their flank. Hood also seemed perfectly 
conscious of all our movements, for when we threw a corps 
with the greatest celerity on their flank, he hurried heavy masses 
of troops to confront them. Their scouts must have been clev- 
erer than ours, or they were able to fathom our movements 
through the tangled woods and ravines of the country. 

On the 3d of August, General Schofield, having gained the 
north side of Utoy Creek, prepared to make a lodgment there. 
The creek is a deep, narrow channel, running east and west, 
four miles south of Atlanta. The banks of the creek are very 
steep, and their sides are tangled with vines and bushes. Hob- 
son's brigade, of Hascall's division, deployed, throwing their 



202 Sherman's maech through the south. 

flanks across the creek ; they soon became masters of the bridge, 
capturing' a captain and his whole command. 

Had Schoficld been supported next day by the 14th corps, he 
certainly would have succeeded in getting in on the railroad, as 
the rebels had not yet taken up position, or intrenched them- 
selves. But two days were lost in a squabble about precedency 
which gave the enemy full time to understand our move, and 
counteract it. 

General Palmer was ordered to report to General Schofield, 
while acting in concert with him. This he refused to do, and 
consequently the delay. It appears that Schofield was his 
junior ; but a battle-field is no place to settle points of eti- 
quette. However, we had few such squabbles, as we were too 
far from Washington for intriguing generals to flourish. 

Palmer resigned, and Jeff" C. Davis took the conamand ; and 
on the morning of the 6th, the 23d corps wheeled to the right 
of the 14th, in order to attack the enemy's flank, and thus 
uncover the Macon line. 

On the previous day General Reilley's brigade attempted to 
force the rebel lines, and, after a stubborn fight, were repulsed, 
with considerable loss. 

Cox's division opened the attack early in the forenoon, and 
was supported by the 2d divisions of the 14th corps, and 
succeeded in establishing a line almost at right angles with 
the creek. 

A hea\y"skirmish line was then thrown out in the centre, com- 
manded by Lieutenant Colonel Mott, 12th Kentucky, and charged 
through a dense wood, though filled with rebel skirmishers, 
driving them from their pits in fine style ; but they were soon 
forced to retreat, as a heavy line opened upon them, and the 
rebels, charging over their works, pursued them. 

The 8th Tennessee, having got too far in advance, was sur- 
rounded, and mostly captured, with their colors. 

The 2d division sustained the 3d, and also lost heavily, with- 
out effecting any material injury on the enemy. 

We had gained no advantage at any point. We simply held 
the creek, with our right reaching within three miles of East 
Point, and about two miles from the railroad. 



kilpatrick's raid. 203 

After the fight, the 23d corps held a position nearly at right 
angles with the 14th corps, and facing southward, the 2d division 
slightly refused to protect the flank, and rested upon a strong 
and easily defensible ridge. 

Our works now in front of Atlanta were formidable, and held 
by very light lines. Indeed, they might be said to be impreg- 
nable. The same might be said of the rebel works confronting 
us. "We were thus far fairly matched. 

On the 16th of August, General Sherman drew up his pro- 
gramme for the grand flank movement on the right, in order to 
command the western line, and thus control the supplies of the 
city. This was to commence on the 28th. This movement 
contemplated the withdrawal of the 20th corps to the intrenched 
positions around the Chattahoochee Bridge, and the march of 
the main army to the West Point Railroad, near Fairborn, 
and afterwards to the Macon road, near Jonesboro', to start 
with fifteen days' provisions. 

A larhe force of almost seven thousand cavalry, had wheeled 
on our rear in order to cut off our supplies, and w^as operating 
near Adairsville, and had succeeded in capturing about eight 
hundred head of cattle. 

This movement induced Sherman to suspend the execution 
of his plan. 

He ordered General Kilpatrick, who had lately returned, 
recovered from his wounds, to collect all the cavalry he could, 
and move on West Point and Fairborn, and there break the 
railroad, and thence proceed to Macon. He could the easier 
do this, as Wheeler was raiding upon the Chattanooga line. 

KilpatricJc^s Raid. 

His forces comprised the 3d division of cavalry, over two 
thousand strong, and Minty's and Long's brigades, of the 
2d cavalry division, about the same strength. 

Colonel Minty, in the absence of General Gerrard, com- 
manded the 2d division. 

The expedition started on the 18th of August for their 
rendezvous ^t Sandtown, 



204 Sherman's march through the south. 

Colonel Minty broke camp, and made Sandtown, under 
shelter of the darkness, in order to cloak the movement from 
the enemy. 

To show how well informed the rebels were of all our 
movements, a letter was captured on the 20th, dated the ISth, 
giving Hood full particulars about the movement, its destination, 
and the force engaged. 

Minty arrived at Sandtown on the morning of the 19th, 
reported to General Kilpatrick, and received his orders. At 
night, the whole command, numbering five thousand men, 
started forward, striking for the West Point Railroad, near 
Fairborn. 

The rebel General Ross encountered the 3d division, and 
checked its advance. Minty and Long moved to the front, and 
slowly drove the enemy back on Flint River. Here the 
destruction of the bridge and depth of the stream cheeked our 
advance ; besides Ross's and Ferguson's brigades were drawn 
up in line on the other side. 

Our artillery at once hurried up, and with the dismounted 
skirmishers, soon cleared the bank, and our troops crossed 
over. 

Minty hurried on to Jonesboro', a town on the Macon Rail- 
road, twenty miles south of Atlanta, the 4th Michigan covering 
his front as skirmishers. 

The rebels fell back to the shelter of the houses, from which 
they opened a sharp fire on Minty's advance. Minty brought 
up his artillery ; but the rebels vacated the houses, mounted, 
and rode away. 

Minty charged after them into the town. The third division 
quickly came up, and commenced destroying all rebel property, 
the depot, and some railroad stock. While so engaged, Ross 
andJFerguson, who had been reenforced by some infantry from 
Atlanta, at this time were forming south of them. Kilpatrick 
moved east, towards Lovejoy Station, with the purpose of 
destroying the railroad. 

As we were leaving Jonesboro*, more infantry came in 
from Griffin. Next morning, the enemy followed us up. 



ktlpatrick's raid. 205 

The 4th Michigan, having struck the railroad, commenced 
tearing it up ; the 4th regulars were sent out to support them. 
Before they could get into line, a brigade of infantry pounced 
down upon them, sweeping over them, killing, wounding, and 
capturing the most of those engaged in burning the tracks. 
Long's brigade immediately came' up, with artillery, and re- 
pulsed the rebels. 

While engaged with the infantry, the rebel cavalry, compris- 
ing Ross's and Ferguson's brigades, swept down on our flanks. 

Minty's brigade hastily formed on the right of the road. The 
3d brigade formed in the same manner on the left of the road. 
Kilpatrick was now completely surrounded. There was no 
means of escape, but a sharp sabre, brave heart, and strong 
arm. 

Minty was ordered to charge. 

At the words, "Attention! forward! charge!'* away went 
his brigade, followed by a host of darkies, on pack-mules, who, 
w^ith kettles and pans rattling, and darkies flying for dear life, 
almost made the scene ludicrous as well as grand. 

On came Minty and his troops. The rebels were drawn up 
behind a hastily constructed barricade. They met them with 
a scattered fire, but, being unable to withstand the charge, 
broke, followed by Minty's men, who cut them down by whole- 
sale on the retreat. 

This gallant charge of Minty's brigade gave Kilpatrick time 
to collect and form his scattered troops. It also deterred the 
enemy from trying to bar his passage. 

Minty's men captured three stands of colors, the 4th United 
States two, and the 4th Michigan one. Minty had his horse 
shot under him. The 3d division now struck for the McDon- 
ough road. Long's brigade soon came into collision with 
a brigade of Cleburne's division, and was repulsed. General 
Long was here wounded. Kilpatrick now made the best of his 
way back, and reached Cotton River, on the night of the 21st, 
where he bivouacked until next morning. 

Thence he moved forward by South River, over which the 
bridge was destroyed ; so he had to swim it, losing one man, 
18 



206 Sherman's march through the south. 

several animals, and some wagons. They reached Lithonia on 
the following day, and on the next reached camp in rear of our 
infantry lines. 

This raid was more brilliant than successful, effecting little 
real good. As for the portion of the railroad they succeeded in 
destroying, it could be repaired in one day. 

Wheeler's Raids. 

Hood, being repulsed in all his assaults, sent Wheeler's 
cavalry to operate on Sherman's lines of communication. 

"VYlieeler moved on our flank, with the intention of tapping 
the Chattanooga line as far as possible from Sherman's main 
army. Wheeler's first attempt was on Dalton, which had 
a garrison of only four hundred men, commanded by Colonel 
Seibold, who, in reply to Wheeler's letter demanding a surren- 
der, returned the following soldierly reply : — 

I have been placed here to defend the post, but not to 
surrender it. 

B. Seibold, Commanding United States forces. 

Wheeler made a bold attack, his men swarming into the town, 
and would have succeeded in crushing the little garrison, had 
not Major General Steedman come to his rescue. 

The garrison rallied out to support Steedman, and, joined by 
Colonel Morgan's 14th United States colored troops, charged 
on the enemy, soon clearing them out. 

Wheeler had torn up some miles of the track near Calhoun, 
and captured about fifteen hundred head of cattle, the most of 
which were retaken, or stampeded. 

He next moved round towards Cleveland, with the expecta- 
tion of destroying the Knoxville line, but was again met by 
General Steedman, near Graysville, and well whipped. The 
rebel cavalry was now divided into raiding parties, operating 
on our communications at various points. 

Major General Steedman commanded the district of Chatta- 
nooga, and rendered the most efficient services by keeping the 



207 

line open, and sending forward troops to the different points 
threatened, thus frustrating Wheeler's raiding assaults. 

Wherever Wheeler threatened in force, there he was sure to 
encounter Steedman in person, and to get well whipped to boot. 

These important movements of Steedman's culminated in the 
successful part he took in Thomas's great battle of Nashville, 
where his troops were the first to strike Hood's flank, turn it, 
and thus materially contribute to that crowning victory. 

Though Steedman was reckoned one of our fighting generals, 
his promptitude and exertions proved him also to be one of our 
thinking generals. 

The government fully appreciated his services, and placed 
Major General Steedman in command of one of the most 
important of the southern departments. 

Rousseau's cavalry also contributed to frustrate the designs 
of Wheeler and Morgan, and to restore our communications, 
which, for a time, were interrupted. 

We now come to Sherman's crowning victory — to that 
great strategic movement which confounded Hood, and placed 
Atlanta in our hands. 

The works which Johnston had built around Atlanta, during 
his slow but masterly retreat, were of the most formidable 
character and strength. It was truly a city of intrenchments 
and fortifications. 

For some time it became apparent to Sherman that he could 
not take them by direct assault, and also that the Western Rail- 
road was too well guarded to be effectually destroyed by cavalry 
raids, or casual attempts. 

On the other hand, it would take, at least, two hundred 
thousand men to completely invest the place so as to prevent 
sallies and cut off all communications, as the trenches were 
garrisoned by old men, militia, conscripts, and mere boys, who 
would do very well behind works, but would prove an encum- 
brance in the field. 

Sherman's purpose now was to deprive Hood of this strength, 
and the protection of his works, by compelling him to take the 



208 Sherman's march through the south. 

field, or suffer his supplies to be totally cut off. Hood, then, 
had no alternative. He should come out and fight ; and in a 
regular battle, the chances were largely in favor of our veteran 
troops. 

In order to prevent Hood from falling back on our communi- 
cations, the 20th corps was to guard the Chattahoochee Bridge ; 
and being strongly intrenched there, it was capable of resisting 
any attempt of Hood's in that quarter. This apparent retreat 
of Sherman's was one of the most masterly movements of the 
war, and was, for a few days, heralded forth to the world by 
the rebel press, as a disastrous rout, attributable to the weak- 
ness of Sherman's army, and the injury inflicted by the raiders. 

Out Flanh Movement^ and Battle of Joneshoro\ 

The commanders of the armies of the Ohio, Cumberland, and 
Tennessee, by orders from General Sherman, had sent across the 
Chattahoochee River all surplus supplies, — wagons, horses, and 
material not absolutely necessary for the expedition, — and had 
loaded their best wagons with sufficient quantities of bread, 
meat, sugar, coffee, and other necessaries, to last fifteen days, 
and a good supply of ammunition. 

These trains were quietly made up near Utoy Creek, in the 
rear of the right of the main army. 

General Kilpatrick moved to Carp Creek, while Schofield 
covered the Campbelltown road. 

General Slocum, who had now arrived from Vicksburg, and 
assumed command of the 20th corps, occupied the works 
around the Chattahoochee, with instructions to hold them at 
all hazards ; also, to guard the packed trains, and the pontoons 
across the river, as w^ell as the depot at Vining's Bridge, and 
Marietta. 

All dispositions having been made, on the night of the 25th of 
August, General Stanly, commanding the 4th corps, moved from 
the works on our extreme left, leaving a light skirmish line and 
cavalry pickets to cover the movement. He wheeled to the rear 
of our lines, south of Proctor Creek, touching on Utoy Creek, 
and behind the right centre of the army of the Tennessee. 



BATTLE OP JONESBORO'. 209 

Gerrard's cavalry followed up, and took position behind 
Peach-tree Creek, in order to cover our movements and check 
the enemy, should they attack our rear. 

General Howard followed, crossing Utoy Creek, and moving 
by the most direct road towards Fairborn, halting at Carp 
Creek. 

Thomas massed the 4th and 14th corps below Utoy Creek. 
Schofield's command moved parallel with Howard's. 

From Carp Creek, General Howard moved the army of the 
Tennessee, in conjunction with Schofield's army of the Ohio, 
directly for the West Point Railroad, in the direction of Fair- 
born, Kilpatrick's cavalry heading his advance. 

General Thomas's army followed in two columns, well 
closed up. 

Gerrard's cavalry brought up the rear, and had some light 
skirmishing with the enemy. Our vast trains were well 
guarded, and kept under cover as much as possible. 

Thus, on the 30th, Sherman's army occupied the following 
positions : — 

Howard, on the right of the line, crossed the West Point 
Railroad, near Fairborn, and then pushed forward in an oblique 
direction for Jonesboro' ; Schofield moved in a more direct 
line, crossing near Red Oak, for Rough-and-Ready Station, on 
the Macon line ; Thomas, with the army of the Cumberland, 
moved into the centre, filling up the gap between Schofield on 
the left and Howard on the right. This gave our lines an 
extension of about twelve miles. 

Since Kilpatrick's raid. Hood had intrenched a corps of 
troops around Jonesboro'. The remainder of his army was 
at Atlanta. Sherman was, therefore, right between his two 
armies. 

Hood was now at Atlanta himself, and looking on Sherman's 
evacuation as a retreat, he sent a detachment of cavalry to 
reconnoitre, which soon struck against Slocum, and got well 
beaten. 

The citizens all rushed out to see our abandoned works, and 
congratulated one another on their supposed victory. Rifle-pits, 
18* 



210 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

intrenchments, and old camps were eagerly examined and 
souvenirs brought home. 

How short-lived was their joy ! It was but a new version of 
the deluded Trojans and the wooden horse. 

Hood soon awoke from his fancied victory, but it was too late. 

Howard found the enemy in force at Jonesboro', and at 
once intrenched himself, extending a salient angle within a mile 
of the railroad. 

Schofield and Stanly struck the railroad some five miles be- 
yond the East Point Junction. 

At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon the rebels attacked How- 
ard's position. Their chief assault was on the 2d division, 15th 
corps, now commanded by Brigadier General Hazen. 

This officer formerly commanded a brigade in the 4th corps, 
but in the translation of Major General HoAvard to the com- 
mand of the army of the Tennessee, he, knowing his worth 
and great military acquirements, got him transferred to his 
command, and assigned him to a division. He fully justified 
his expectations, and, for his brilliant assault on Fort Pulaski, 
was made major general. 

Hazen's division met the assault with firmness, repulsed the 
enemy, and took possession of a hill which commanded Jones- 
boro', and might be justly called the key of the position. 

On this hill Hazen rested for the night, the other divisions 
being on his right and left. The 16th corps, somewhat retired, 
formed on the extreme right, and the 17th corps on Hazen's 
left. The enemy lost sorely in men and officers in their attack 
on the 15th corps. 

In Hazen's front alone the dead and wounded were actually 
piled on one another. Hazen captured two flags and severial 
prisoners. 

Next morning, the 1st September, the 14th corps, under 
General Davis, marched along the Macon line, destroying the 
track for several miles, and about 4 o'clock took up position on 
the left of the loth corps, which Avas drawn up in line of battle. 

The 14th corps was ordered to assault the enemy's intrenched 
position. Cavalry and infantry steadily advanced, under a surg- 



214 

ing fire of musketry and artillery. They had to cross a corn- 
field, then a deep ravine, and strike up a slope to the enemy's 
works. The 14th corps stood the ordeal well; swept over the 
valley, charged right on the Avorks, where a regular hand-to- 
hand conflict ensued, which lasted for nearly two hours, but 
finally terminated by our men gaining the works and capturing 
two batteries. They turned these guns upon the flying rebels, 
mowing them do^vn by wholesale. 

One of these batteries was Loomas's celebrated battery of 
five gims, which had been taken from us at Chickamauga. 

They also captured another battery of four guns, several 
battle-flags, and a large number of prisoners, including many 
general officers, thus swelling our list of prisoners captured in 
the expedition to about two thousand. General Govan and his 
adjutant general were among the prisoners, General Cummings 
among the dead. 

It was now night. Our troops had closed around the town 
to renew the attack in the morning. 

During the night the enemy, finding it impossible to hold 
Jonesboro', retreated along the Macon road in a southerly di- 
rection, and took up a position at Lovejoy's Station, seven miles 
from Jonesboro', and twenty-nine miles from Atlanta. Here 
they hastily intrenched themselves. Early next morning Sher- 
man ordered a rapid pursuit, and towards noon General T. J. 
\Yood, of the 4th corps, reached their new position, and gal- 
lantly assaulted it. General Wood was shot in the foot, but 
refused to leave the field. 

Sherman, finding that he could not prevent a junction between 
S. D. Lee and Stewart's corps, issued orders to fall back to At- 
lanta, which was now occupied by Major General Slocum. 

As soon as Hood discovered Sherman's real object, he at once 
saw that his position was untenable ; and on the night of the 
1st September he blew up all the magazines and ammunition, 
destroyed all the supplies he could not remove, comprising eight 
locomotives, and near one hundred cars laden with ammunition, 
small arms, and stores, and then retreated. Next morning 
General Slocum sent forward detachments from Ward's, Geary's, 
and Williams's divisions on a reconnoissance. 



212 Sherman's march through the south. 

On advancing near the city they met no resistance. Finally, 
observing that it was evacuated, they entered it about 11 o'clock, 
on the morning of September 2, 1864. They were met outside 
by a deputation, comprising the mayor, Mr. Calhoun, the high 
sheriff, and some of the most respectable citizens, who made a 
formal surrender of the city to General Ward, simply making 
the following request : — 

Brigadier General Ward, 3d Division, 20th A. C. 

Sir : The fortune of war has placed the city of Atlanta in 
your hands. As Mayor of this city I ask protection for non- 
combatants and private property. 

James M. Calhoun, 

Mayor of Atlanta. 

General Slocum arrived soon after, and took formal posses- 
sion of the town. A large share of government property, four 
engines, and fourteen pieces of heavy artillery, fell into our 
hands. 



FEDERAL OCCUPATION OF ATLANTA. 213 



CHAPTER XIX. 

ATLANTA OURS. — SHERMAN'S ENTRANCE. — FEELING OF THE 
CITIZENS. — SKETCH OF THE CITY. — BURIED ALIVE IN A BOMB 
PROOF. — THE CITIZENS SENT NORTH AND SOUTH. — AN INHU- 
MAN FIEND. 

Atlanta was now in our hands, the crowning point of Sher- 
man's great campaign. Hood had been outgeneralled, out- 
manoeuvred, and outflanked, and was now trying to concentrate 
his scattered army. On the night of the 1st, when the rebel 
army was vacating, the stampede was frightful to those en- 
gaged, but grandly ludicrous to casual spectators. 

Even war has its laughable scenes amidst all its horrors, and 
the retreat from Atlanta was an illustration of that. Convey- 
ances were bought at fabulous sums, and when all were 
crowded, those who could not procure any — men, women, and 
children, old and young — followed the procession, bearing bun- 
dles of all contents and sizes. The delicate drawing-room miss, 
that could never venture half a mile on foot, with her venerable 
parents, now marched out, joining the solemn procession. Con- 
fusion and disorder prevailed in every place, considerably in- 
creased by the eighty loads of ammunition now blowing up. 

Shrieking, hissing shells rushed into the air, as if a thousand 
guns were firing off together. We plainly heard the noise at 
Jonesboro'. How terrifying must it be to the trembling, 
affrighted fugitives, who rushed to and fro, and believed, with 
every report, that the Yankees were upon them — to slay, 
ravage, and destroy them. 

But yesterday, they had exultingly gazed upon our abandoned 
works ; to-night, how changed ! 

I had left Jonesboro' on the morning of the 2d, and being 
provided with an escort of cavalry, through the kindness of 



214 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

General Gerrard, I started for Atlanta. There was no com- 
munication opened, as yet, between Sherman's army and At- 
lanta ; and as deserters and militia squads were along the 
roads, the attempt was rather hazardous, and was attended 
with some amusing incidents. "We had twenty-one miles to 
ride over an enemy's country. At one point a horseman came 
out of the woods into the main road, and, seeing us, dashed off 
at a fearful rate. Two men went in pursuit, and not being able 
to overtake him, fired on him, which brought him to. 

He turned out to be a full-blooded negro. I have never seen 
such a scared animal in all my life. He could scarcely speak 
when we came up ; but there he was, with his mouth and eyes 
opened to their fullest extent, and the latter looking as if they 
would roll out of his head. 

" Have courage, man ; we are not going to kill you." 

'' O, massa, me done nothing, massa ; spare dis nigger, 
massa ! " 

He found it a great relief when we were not going to eat 
him, and became quite communicative. 

As we parted from him, one of the boys fell in love with his 
horse, which was a fine animal, and borrowed him. I expect 
he forgot to return him. 

The people knew nothing of what had taken place ; they 
thought that General Hood was yet in Atlanta, and it was 
ludicrous to witness their terror when the Yankee cavalry 
hailed them, and told them how things stood. 

Two of the men, who were dressed in butternut jackets, rode 
up to a house in search of refreshments. A lady was inside, 
and they asked for something to eat and drink. 

" Why, you scamps, you're worse than the Yanks ; you won't 
leave we'ns a bit or a sup in the house. You'ns have taken 
everything I have." 

" O, well, get us something now, and we won't call any 
more." 

"Won't you'ns? Often you've said that. I wish the Yanks 
come and cleared you'ns out." 

" Well, madam, you have got your prayer ; we are the 
Yankee cavalry." 



FEMININE LIP LOYALTY. 215 

" Git out ; you'ns not." 

" Come here ; " and he took her to the door, and pointed out 
the men drawn up on the road. 

" O, laws me, but you'ns are ; " and she clapped her hands 
together, and nearly %vent into a fit with fright. 

We called into another house, and asked for some bread and 
milk, which the lady brought down. She was a very garrulous 
old lady, and had a little too much lip loyalty to be sincere. 

" We'ns are so glad to see you'ns, gentlemen ; and if my 
Johnny w^as here, he'd be so glad ! Eat enough, gentlemen. 
Didn't you'ns ever hear of my Johnny?" 

" No, madam." 

" Dear me, dear me ; I thought every one knew Johnny 
McGowan. I wish you could see Johnny ; he'd be so glad to 
see you." 

*' Is Johnny a rebel, madam ? " 

" O, dear me, gracious, no ; my Johnny is one of the best 
boys in the country ; he wouldn't hurt a fly. O, gracious, no ; 
Johnny wouldn't fire a shot for the life of him, for fear of hurt- 
ing any one." 

"Where is he now, madam?" 

" Gracious me, I don't know ; I think he is looking for 
you'ns critters to help ye." 

All this time some of the men were making a tour of inspec- 
tion about the rooms, and one of them telegraphed to me from 
the door. I went with him into a room. The beds looked as 
if they had been just slept in ; and on turning down the cov- 
erlets we exposed a little arsenal of rifles and small arms. 

"Madam," said I, "what brought all these firearms here?" 

" O, gracious me, you'ns won't mind them ; Johnny is such 
a sportsman ; he's never tired shooting. Dear me, if you knew 
my Johnny — I wished he was here." 

"I wish so, too, madam; and for fear he'd injure himself 
shooting, we'll break these guns ; and when we are passing this 
way again, we'll bring this Nimrod a small field-piece." 

" O, dear, how kind ! and if you'ns let me know when you 
are coming, we'ns will have dinner ready." 



216 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

We §0 fully appreciated her generosity that we took two fine 
mules, and, not thinking the place very healthy, took our leave. 

We reached Atlanta about nightfall. As we approached the 
city, troops were drawn up before us, not knowing but we were 
rebel cavalry. We floated a white handkerchief, and soon 
joined old comrades, and were received with loud cheers, which 
were redoubled when we told them all about the victory at 
Jonesboro'. 

I at once went to report events to General Slocum, for we 
were the first to reach Atlanta from Sherman's army. 

Next morning Sherman resolved to retire to the defences of 
Atlanta, there to give his wearied army time to recuperate, 
after its unparalleled campaign of four months' marching and 
fighting. 

His own entry was without parade or ostentation — no beat- 
ing of drums, no flaunting of colors, no firing of salutes, to 
humble the pride of the conquered. 

Sherman and staff, accompanied by several general officers, 
simply rode through to his headquarters. There was not even 
a shout or huzza to welcome him. 

The citizens looked out from their doors and windows, eager 
to catch a glance of the man whose name had now become so 
famous. The soldiers lined the sidewalks, quietly looked on, 
and passed their own remarks on " Old Billy." 

Officers, mounted on prancing steeds, looked far more con- 
sequential than the great conqueror himself, and cast their eyes 
from window to balcony to see if any fair eyes were admiring 
their gracious selves. 

The fair eyes had fled, and those remaining would fain wither 
them with their basilisk glances. 

Sketch of Atlanta. 

Atlanta has acquired much importance as the great objective 
point of Sherman's campaign through Northern Georgia, and 
on account of the trying siege it withstood, and the desperate 
conflicts that raged outside its walls. 

It is a new city, that has sprung up in the desert. Some 



SKETCH OP ATLANTA. 217 

thirty years ago its site was a wilderness. The princely oak 
and pine had given way to stately houses and shady streets ; 
the war song and dance of the swarthy Indian was replaced by 
the hum and bustle of commerce and trade, and where once 
stood his wigwams now a mighty city was springing into exist- 
ence. In 1845 the site was laid out, and in 1861 its population 
was estimated at about fifteen thousand, which was swelled up 
during the war by government employees and officials to about 
twenty thousand. 

This rapid, almost unparalleled, growth was owing to its posi- 
tion. It was the great central point where the leading railroads 
of Georgia met, and consequently became a flourishing market 
for grain and cotton and other market produce. Atlanta is the 
great depot of the following railroads : The Georgian road, 
connecting Atlanta with Augusta ; the Macon and Western road 
to Macon, and the Western and Atlantic road to Chattanooga ; 
the Lagrange branch connects Atlanta with West Point, on the 
Chattahoochee River, on the Alabama line. By these different 
converging lines Atlanta lay in communication with all parts 
of the United States. By railroad it is one hundred and sev- 
enty-one miles from Augusta, one hundred and one from Macon, 
two hundred and ninety-two from Savannah, and one hundred 
and thirty-eight from Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

It was a beautiful and rapidly progressing city previous to 
the war. The streets were wide and airy, and all converged 
towards the railroad depot, which was in the centre of the town. 
It had several good hotels, a tasty court-house, churches, public 
schools, and several fine blocks of buildings. 

Atlanta owed its wealth to its location and trade, for the 
country around was rather barren and uncultivated ; but south, 
towards the valleys of the Chattahoochee and Etowah, are some 
fine valleys of great fertility. Atlanta is situated partly on 
an elevation, and on this account was considered remarkably 
healthy. 

In a milit^T^-point of view, Atlanta was of vital importance. 
Jeff Davis felt this when he said at Macon, " Atlanta must be 
held at all hazards." It was the key to the network of rail- 
19 



218 Sherman's march theough the south. 

roads extending to all portions of the Gulf states, and on the 
inceptioh of the war was at once selected as a government 
depot and manufacturing centre ; so rolling mills, founderies, 
machine shops, laboratories, and shops for the manufacture 
of all kinds of government articles were established here. 

It was therefore the cradle from which the southern armies 
drew their supplies, and consequently of vital importance. The 
government works here were of the most important nature. 
The Atlanta rolling mill was one of the most extensive in the 
south. It employed two hundred hands. It furnished the iron 
for the Merrimac, Arkansas, and several other boats. There 
was a rolling mill for the manufacture of shot and shell, and 
another for the manufacture of pistols, employing about 
three hundred hands. On the other side of the railroad was a 
government arsenal, which was built during the war, and was 
kept in vigorous operation, making and repairing arms, gun- 
carriages, and the like. Above these were the machine shops 
and round houses of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company. 

Three miles east of the city was the government laboratory. 
North of the depot were the naval laboratory, railroad foundery, 
and machine shops. Besides these and others, there were sev- 
eral government depots, pork-packing and oil establishments, 
clothing and other factories. With such important manufac- 
tories and stores for army supplies, it is no wonder that the 
Confederates should risk a large army for the protection of 
Atlanta, and that Davis should be so anxious to hold it. 

The material effect of the capture of Atlanta was the first 
great death-blow to the rebel cause ; thenceforward they began 
to lose hope, and consequently became disintegrated. 
. The city had suffered much from our projectiles. Several 
houses had been burned, and several fallen down. In some 
places the streets were blocked up with the rubbish. The sub- 
urbs were in ruins, and few houses escaped without being per- 
forated. Many of the citizens were killed, and many more 
had hair-breadth escapes. Some shells had passed through the 
Trout House Hotel, kicking up a regular muss among beds and 
tables. 



SKETCH OF ATLANTA. 219 

One woman pointed out to me where a eliell dashed through 
her house as she was sitting down to dinner. It upset the 
table and things, passed through the house, and killed her neigh- 
bor in the next house. 

Several had been killed ; some in their houses, others in the 
streets. 

When the rebels were evacuating, in the confusion several of 
our sick and wounded escaped from the hospitals, and were 
sheltered by the citizens. 

Almost every garden and yard around the city had its cave. 
These were sunk down with a winding entrance to them, so 
that pieces of shells could not go in. When dug deep enough, 
boards were placed on the top, and the earth piled upon them in a 
conical shape, and deep enough to withstand even a shell. Some 
of these caves, or bomb-proofs, were fifteen feet deep, and 
well covered. All along the railroad, around the intrench- 
ments and the bluff near the city, were gopher holes, where 
soldiers and citizens concealed themselves. 

In some cases it happened that our shells burst so as to close 
up the mouths of the caves, thus burying the inmates in a living 
tomb. I learned the following case from the sufferer him- 
self: Private James Newcomb got wounded in the battle of 
the 22d of July, and was captured and brought into Atlanta 
hospital, where his right arm was amputated. To use his own 
words, — 

" I hain't nothing bad to say against them at all. They 
treated me well enough, but still I liked to join our own boys. 
Ladies came round the hospitals every day, and always had a 
kind word or some little delicacy for us. I got on very well ; 
my arm began to heal, and then I began to look round for a 
chance to escape. I could easily get out of the hospital, but 
how to get into our lines, that was another thing. Every day I 
heard the shells whizzing about the city, and hurtling over the 
hospitals. I thought of the boys, and wished to get back to the 
camp, and have a long talk about all I saw and went through. 
We had a nigger servant of the name of Moses, who seemed 
to take to me rather kindly. One evening we were sitting out- 



220 

side the hospital, watching the shells my old friends were send- 
ing to risit me. 

" ' Moses/ said I, ' come here, and fasten this bandage on 
this stump/ Moses went on one knee before me, and began to 
fasten the bandage, but started and looked scared as a shell 
whirred over our heads. 

"'Moses,' said I, 'you shouldn't be scared about them; 
every shell of them is unbinding the chains that fetter you.' 

" ' Don't say so, massa ; ' and he looked up into my face. 

" ' Moses, would you like to be free — to have no massa to 
whip you or kick you ? * 

" ' Dat I would, massa.' 

" ' These Yankees, of whom you are so much afraid, are try- 
ing to set you free.' 

" ' Specks so ; but Massa Joe says they'll kill us all, or sell 
us up nor', to work like de horses ; besides, they won't get in 
here, massa ; specks dey are running back.' 

" ' I think not, Moses ; your folks say we are retreating every 
day, though, as you see, we are but getting nearer.' 

" ' Dat a fact, massa.' 

" ' Moses, will you help me to escape, and come \^dth me?' 

" ' O Lor', massa, I wish I could ;' and he raised up his hands 
and looked into my face. 

" ' You can, when it's dark ; you know the back ways ; let 
us slip away, and, by wheeling around by Decatur, we will get 
into our lines.' 

" Moses was true to his appointment ; the guards were very 
negligent about the hospital ; so I took up a large bread basket 
and shook the flour over me. The guard, taking me for the 
baker, let me pass. I had on a rebel jacket and homespun 
pants ; so we passed through the streets without any observa- 
tions. As we were approaching 'the suburbs, a squad of sol- 
diers drew near. 

" ' Moses,' said I, ' we had better hide, and let these pass.* 

" ' O Lor', yes, massa. Come here ;' and he opened a little 
wicket leading into a deserted house, at the end of which was 
a cave. 



BURIED ALIVE IN A BOMB-PROOF. 221 

" ' Here, massa, down here ; * and in we got into the cave, 
Moses drawing an old barrel after him to stop its mouth. 

" We were scarcely settled in it, when we heard the soldiers 
follow after us ; so Ave thought we were done for. It appeared 
they were going to bivouac in the deserted house for the night. 
They soon stacked their arms right around us, and lighted 
fires. "We could plainly hear them talking, and their tramp 
over us. 

" The fear was now that any of them would come down into 
the cave ; so Moses and I trembled as we lay down on the cold 
ground. There was no chance of escape, as the mouth of the 
cave faced the veranda, on Avhich the men were now sleeping ; 
besides, the sentries' beat was right by it. There were some 
dry boards in the cave ; so we lay on these, and slept. In the 
morning the soldiers moved off ; we heard them say they were 
going to Jonesboro'. 

" Moses returned to the hospital for something to eat, and 
was not suspected. I durst not venture out now in the day, 
but resolved to wait until night. 

" Moses returned with some bread, and the disheartening 
news that our men were retreating, and that I was missed, and 
they were hunting me up. An occasional shot was still fired 
on the town ; so I could scarcely credit it. 

" It was near the time that Moses was to return to accom- 
pany me, when I heard the whir of a shell ; and a crash, and 
mortar and bricks came tumbling down the mouth of the cave, 
completely blocking it up. The volume of dust that rushed in 
nearly smothered me. 

" The place became as dark as the blackest night ; the dust 
was- suiFocating me, and either a slow, miserable death from 
starvation, or a death equally wretched from suffocation, stared 
me in the face. All my dependence was now on Moses. I lay 
here I don't know how long, expecting him to relieve me ; but 
no Moses came. O, the horror of such a death ! I pulled the 
bricks to clear away the entrance, but more rolled in. I then 
piled some of the bricks under my feet, and tried to pull down 
the roof. It seemed to mock my efforts. I threw myself down, 
19* 



222 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

prayed and cried by turns. I shouted, but the place was de- 
serted, and no dhe heard me. I was buried alive in my tomb. 
I don't know how long I was in it. I had eaten the scraps of 
bread Moses had brought me, and chewed some belts. My 
tongue was swollen ; my throat was parched. O, if I could but 
die ! I heard a rumbling noise — the cave shook around me — 
I thought it was an earthquake. I jumped up with fear, but 
soon threw myself down exhausted, to die. 

" I thought I heard voices over me, and some one calling my 
name. I screamed, partly with terror, partly with hope. I heard 
people rapidly clearing away the bricks. The light soon burst upon 
me, and there stood Moses. I fell into a swoon. When I came to 
myself I was lying on the piazza with some four or five negro 
boys around me, who quickly supplied me with coiFee and food. 
"When Moses left me that evening, he was forced off by an offi- 
cer who was going in pursuit of the retreating Yanks. They 
discovered the Yanks at the Chattahoochee, and got a peppering 
reception from General Slocum. In the confusion Moses man- 
aged to escape to our lines, and was with the first of the Union 
troops that entered the city. He at once came to the cave, 
rather through curiosity than with any expectation of finding 
me there. He heard my scream in reply to his call, and col- 
lecting a squad of negroes, soon cleared the opening. A round 
shot struck the end wall of the house, toppling it down upon 
me. The great noise I heard was caused by the rebels blowing 
up their ammunition. I was, in all, five days in that cave. It 
was dreadful what I suffered. My hair was jet black when I 
went in ; it is noAV well tinged with gray. Moses has saved my 
life, and he and I have sworn a bond of lasting friendship." 

Sherman's army was now grouped around Atlanta in the fol- 
lowing order : The army of the Cumberland in and around the 
city ; the army of the Tennessee at East Point ; and the army 
of the Ohio at Decatur. Hood had made a desperate struggle 
for Atlanta. 

One of Davis's leading organs declared, " Atlanta is the 
gate city from the north and west to' the south-east. Its fall 
•would open the way for the Federal army to the Gulf on one 



CITIZENS SENT NORTH AND SOUTH. 223 

hand, and Charleston on the other, and close up those rich 
granaries from which Lee's armies are supplied. It would give 
them control of our network of railways, and thus paralyze our 
efforts. 

" The capture of Richmond would prove of greater advantage 
to our enemies in a political point of view, than any other sense. 
With our capital in their possession, we would find additional in- 
fluence brought to bear against us abroad ; but as a material loss, 
its fall would in no manner compare with the disadvantages which 
would result from a defeat of General Johnston, and the occupa- 
tion of Georgia that would follow. The first point is near our 
boundary lines, the second is our great centre. To lose the one 
would be as the loss of a limb ; should we be driven from the 
other, it will be a terrible blow at our most vital point." 

Hood, too, in his boastful mood, stated, " We cannot lose At- 
lanta. If we do, the Confederacy is broken. For my part, I'll 
fight while a man stands by me, even until the streets of the 
city run with our blood." Very fine indeed. He meant his 
soldiers' blood, for Hood went by the sobriquet of " Butcher 
Hood." 

In falling back to Atlanta, we destroyed fifteen miles of the 
Macon and Western Railroad. 

The enemy were now in position between Lovejoy Station and 
Jonesboro'. 

On the 8th of September, General Sherman issued a congrat- 
ulatory order to his troops, thanking them for the bravery and 
unshaken fidelity w^ith which they sustained so arduous a cam- 
paign. On the same day he issued an order desiring all citizens 
of Atlanta either to go north or within the rebel lines within a 
certain day. At first this order appeared cruel, almost savage ; 
but his subsequent destruction of Atlanta justified such a harsh 
measure. A truce of ten days, from September 12 to Sep- 
tember 22, was declared, in order to carry out this order. In 
the mean time, transportation was supplied as far as Rough-and- 
Ready Station, to all who desired to go inside the Confederate 
lines. 

Sherman's comprehensive mind was already clearing the way 



224 Sherman's march through the south. 

for the Georgian campaign. He knew that Atlanta might again 
be rendered formidable in the hands of the enemy, and had re- 
solved to destroy, or, to use his own words, " to wipe it out." 
War is at best a horrid cruelty, and cannot be refined. Expe- 
diency and necessity justify acts savage enough to make the 
angels weep. Friends and foes suffer indiscriminately from its 
ravages, and too often the innocent suffer, while the guilty 
escape. 

In Atlanta we had strong proofs of the military despotism of 
the Confederacy. We captured in the trenches feeble old men, 
with gray heads and tottering steps, and mere striplings, who 
were too young to be taken from their mothers' leading-strings. 
Everything had been made subservient to the army. It swal- 
lowed up the blood and wealth of the land, leaving its poor, 
deluded dupes stripped of everything — of the enjoyments of life 
itself. The people, after awakening from the first shock inspired 
by the terrible barbarities they heard of the Federal soldiers, 
seemed to welcome the new order of things. They were now 
protected, and could walk abroad in security. General Slocum's 
administration of Atlanta was so impartial and rigidly enforced, 
that life and property there were as secure as in the city of New 
York. Near the depot were several slave marts, with their glar- 
ing signs, announcing, " Slaves bought and sold here," " Slave 
auction rooms," " The great slave mart," and such like. As 
the soldiers passed these they read them with a mocking laugh. 
As the poor negro passed these human shambles of his former 
degradation, his heart became light, for he no longer dreaded 
the galling chains, or the lash, or the auctioneer's hammer that 
was to consign him to a new master, and separate him from his 
wife and children. 

As soon as General Sherman had issued his order, several 
families prepared to go south at once. They were merely join- 
ing their friends, while the men who had concealed themselves 
from conscription, who had been persecuted by rebel authority, 
whose friends had been shot down or hung up for their Union 
sentiments, who concealed our wounded men and fed them, and 
who screened our prisoners and aided their flight, who longed 



AFFECTING STORY. 225 

for us as their friends, did not Avell know what to do. They 
found our friendship as destructive as the rebels' enmity. Some 
few went north ; the most of them remained, hoping, like Mr. 
Micawber, that something better would turn up. 

" Could you tell me who are our friends ? " said an old, respect- 
able citizen to me. 

" If you tell me your politics, I will," said I. 

" At the breaking out of the war I owed large sums to 
northern merchants, and I paid them. I had neither hand nor 
voice in bringing on this war ; I wanted to live under the old 
flag. During the war I gave every assistance in my power to 
relieve Union prisoners, and my only son was caught aiding one 
of them to escape, and shot. The rebels then stripped me of 
my property, and called me a d — d Yank. Only for my age, 
they'd hang me." 

" Well, I think you are a Union man," I replied. 

" I have given proofs enough, at least ; and now what's my 
reward ? You hunt me from my house and place in my old age. 
Do you think but I am suffering for my country ? I have the 
alternative of going north and starve, or going into the rebel 
lines and being hung." 

Alas ! he spoke the truth. There were hundreds like him ; 
but war makes no distinction. Those going within the rebel 
lines seemed to enjoy the thing. The cars taking them down 
were loaded with a miscellaneous cargo. In some were crowded 
together tottering old age and maidens in their youthful bloom. 
The former fretted very much at being thus rudely torn away, 
root and branch, from the soil on which they grew, and in which 
they hoped soon to rest their wearied hearts. As for their 
young companions, they seemed to treat the thing as a kind of 
sentimental journey. I fully understood this when we reached 
the rebel quarters, when I saw with what a warm greeting the 
rebel officers and soldiers received them. Some even carried 
their enthusiasm so far as to welcome them with warm kisses 
and embraces. In addition, the wagons were crowded with a 
heterogeneous medley of poodle dogs, tabby cats, asthmatic pia- 
nos, household furniture, cross old maids, squalling, wondering 



226 Sherman's march through the south. 

children, all of wliicli, liuddled togethfir, made anything but a 
pleasant ' travelling party, which I accompanied. "We were 
kindly received by Major St. Clair, who was in command of the 
rebel party. Everything went on in the most friendly way — 
visits paid between Federals and Confederates, exchanges 
made, friendly intercourse kept up. One could scarcely realize 
that these laughing, chatting groups were deadly enemies, who 
to-morrow would strive for one another's blood. 

Among the most notorious of persecutors of Union men in 
Atlanta was a Mr. Jones ; he kept a livery stable in the rear 
of the mayor's. He was a devil incarnate ; kept bloodhounds 
for hunting up men skulking from the conscription, or Federal 
prisoners trying to make their escape. Woe betide the wretch 
that got into his hands. Like all tyrants and ruffians, he was a 
coward, and bought exemption by his valuable services as a spy 
and dogger. This black-hearted ruffian used all his influence to 
get the poor men executed who attempted to destroy the bridges 
and run off with the train on the Chattanooga line. He suc- 
ceeded, and as the poor victims were dragged along to the place 
of execution by the halters on their necks, this foul scoundrel 
followed them, goading them on, and mocking them. He was 
also accompanied by his bloodhounds, as he said, " to give them 
a smell of Yankee blood." The executioner had to enjoy the 
exclusive privilege of tying up his victims, and then drawing 
the plank from their feet. As their bodies dangled in the air, 
he swung them round, knocking the convulsed breathing frames 
against one another. All this time his bloodhounds barked and 
jumped at the dangling feet of their victims, and as they caught 
them they swung from them until the flesh gave way. Honest 
men shuddered at such fiendish cruelty, but durst not resent it. 
They dreaded the tyrant's power. I hope this fellow has met 
his deserts before this ; if not, that all honest men will treat him 
wdth scorn, and society exclude him from its circles. - Such a 
fellow is only fit to associate with his brother demons. 



A NEW CAMPAIGN. 227 



CHAPTER XX. 

A NEW CAMPAIGN. — BATTLE OF ALLATOONA. — SHERMAN SIGNAL- 
LING FROM KENESAW MOUNTAIN. — WHO PLANNED THE CAM- 
PAIGN AND MARCH THROUGH GEORGIA, SHERMAN OR GRANT ? 
— THE CONFLAGRATION OF ATLANTA. 

The truce Laving expired, Hood inaugurated a new cam- 
paign. Hood had been informed that two divisions of troops 
had been sent to Tennessee to strengthen our positions against 
Wheeler's and Forrest's cavalry, which were now threatening 
us at dijQTerent points, and had succeeded in capturing some 
small post and a few block-houses. Athens, too, though gar- 
risoned by about six hundred men, strongly intrenched, and 
commanded by Colonel Campbell, shamefully fell into their 
hands, even without a fight. 

Hood had been also informed that two divisions more were 
gone to Kentucky to recruit, and that Blair's corps had gone 
home, their term of enlistment having expired. 

He was led into this error, because, about this time, the 16th 
corps was broken up, and consolidated with the 17th. 

Under the delusion that Sherman's army was now consider- 
ably weakened, he resolved to fall back on our communications 
with one corps, and keep the remainder on hand to watch 
Sherman's rear. 

Forrest's cavalry was certainly causing us a great deal of 
trouble about this time ; and it looked feasible enough that by 
forming a junction with him, or causing a heavy diversion in 
his favor, he would succeed in destroying the railroads and 
cutting off our supplies, which would be ruinous to Sherman, 
as he had but a small amount of supplies on hand at the time, 
and the country all round was stripped of provisions. 



228 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

Acting oh this programme, on the evening of October 29, 
Stewart'* corps, of Hood's army, broke camp, and marched to 
the Chattahoochee in the following order : Loring in advance, 
Walthal in the centre, and French in the rear. They crossed the 
river at Pumpkintown. Next day they moved by New Hope 
Church for Big Shanty and Allatoona. 

But Sherman was not to be caught napping, for he had 
thrown a couple of divisions to strengthen the most important 
points along the railroad, and Steedman had also sent all the 
troops he could spare from Chattanooga to guard around 
Bridgeport, Decatur, Dalton, and other threatened points. 

Forrest had lost too much time enjoying his victories at 
Pulaski, Athens, &c., instead of striking direct for Bridgeport, 
or some other important points on the Chattanooga line. Had 
he done so in the beginning, his chances of success were very 
good ; now, we had too strongly reenforced them for any cav- 
alry raid to be effective against them. 

Previous to this movement Davis had paid his annual visit 
to the western department and to Hood's army, which was then 
encamped near Newman, in order to cover Columbus, Ga. 

Here Jeff Davis visited the army, and finding general dis- 
satisfaction prevailing against General Hood, in order to allay 
this and completely shelve Johnston, towards whom he did not 
entertain a very good feeling, he appointed Beauregard com- 
mander of the department of the south-west. Hood simply 
retaining his position as commander of the army of the Ten- 
nessee. Davis now laid down the new programme of action 
for Hood, and urged on him its immediate adoption. 

S. D. Lee's corps followed Stewart on the following day. 
The army, however, made but a short march ; for on the night 
of the 30th of October they encamped near the old battle-field 
of New Hope Church. 

Here Hood concentrated his forces, being Lee's corps and 
Wheeler's cavalry. Full of enthusiasm at having successfully 
crossed the Chattahoochee River, he divulged his plans, and 
assured his men that " success was certain ; Sherman had 
but forty days' rations of meat, and no bread. I will certainly 



BATTLE OF ALLATOONA. 229 

compel Sherman to retreat. Forrest is doing good work on 
the left, and "Wheeler is now going to operate on the right." 

Next day he resumed his march. "Wheeler struck Marietta, 
and skirmished about it Avithout any success. Stewart moved 
on Big Shanty and Ackworth, capturing those places and 
their small garrisons, and destroyed about ten miles of the 
track. 

General G. French moved farther to the left and north, 
making for the important and narrow pass of the Allatoona 
Mountains, through which the railroad runs, and where we had 
a large depot. 

General Mi- Corse, of the 15th corps, had been ordered from 
Rome to guard this pass, and just reached in time to take up 
position before French's assault. The rebel assault here was 
desperately made and vigorously sustained. 

Corse met them with equal fortitude, and a very stubborn 
battle ensued, which lasted nearly seven hours. 

At one time the rebels had seized on a pile of stores at the 
depot, of which we had over a million rations, and each man 
was carrying off a box of hard tack, or pork, when a brigade 
came up, charged on them, and shot them down wholesale, with 
their loads. Sherman was anxiously looking on from the top 
of Kenesaw, and signalled to Corse, — 

" Keep on. I'm sending reenforcements." 

Corse's reply was, " I'll fight to the last." 

This was a very severe fight, but ended in favor of the 
Federal troops. Our loss in Corse's division, which alone was 
engaged, was about five hundred, while the rebel loss was com- 
puted at nearly one thousand. 

General Corse was slightly wounded. A bullet grazed his 
cheek. 

Hood continued his march, moving slowly north in the 
direction of Dalton. 

In the mean time Sherman had not been idle. He left 

Slocum's corps to garrison Atlanta, and followed Hood with 

his main force. On October 12, Hood made his appearance 

at Resaca, and demanded a surrender of the place, kindly 

20 



230 Sherman's march through the south. 

informing the garrison that if he should take the place by 
storm,* he would give no quarter. 

Colonel Weaver, 8th Iowa, commanded the garrison, and 
bravely repulsed Hood's superior force. 

Hood next moved on Dalton, commanded by a Colonel John- 
son, which surrendered. It had only a garrison of one colored 
regiment, and a company of white troops. 

Sherman was now pressing so closely on his rear, that he had 
not time to take away or destroy a store of supplies he captured 
at Ringgold. 

Hood now, finding Sherman on his rear, Chattanooga strongly 
garrisoned, and Steedman threatening his advance, wheeled for 
Villanow in two columns, one column moving by Snake Creek 
Gap, and the other by Buzzard Roost. 

Stanly's 4th corps struck the column passing through Snake 
Creek Gap, and repulsed them. Sherman crossed in their rear, 
and encountered them at Villanow, where he captured some 
two hundred prisoners. Cheatham's corps retreated direct to 
Summerville, the other two corps through Ship's Gap. 

On the 2Gth Sherman's headquarters were at Gaylesville, 
North Alabama, a little village on the Chatoogata River, six 
miles from its junction with the Coosa. 

Here Sherman rested for six days. It was a very fertile 
locality, and well supplied with provisions. The enemy had 
taken up position near Tallidaga. 

Lee's, Stewart's, and Cheatham's troops picketed the south 
bank of the Coosa, while Wheeler and his cavalry Tvere in- 
trenched at Turkeytown, on the north bank. 

The 15th corps moved out on a reconnoissance on the 25th, but 
effected nothing, except developing the position of the enemy. * 

General Stanly now commanded the army of the Cumber- 
land, in the absence of General Thomas, who had removed his 
headquarters to Nashville, as the most central point of opera- 
tion, General Thomas J. Wood taking Stanly's 4th corps. 

Hood attempted to capture Decatur, Ala., but was repulsed. 
He next attempted to cross the Tennessee River near the 
conflux of the Bluewater, but was confronted by Stanly. 



MOVEMENTS OF THE FEDERAL ARMY. 231 

He next marched towards Muscle Shoals, and succeeded in 
effecting a crossing at Florence. 

Sherman now gave up the pursuit. He was but playing with 
Hood all along.; and now, when he had him across the Tennes- 
see, he commenced preparations for that great march which he 
had long since matured, and now designed to carry out. He left 
the 4th and 23d corps under General Schofield to check Hood's 
advance on Nashville. This they nobly did, keeping Hood's 
whole army at bay, and defeating it in the glorious fight at 
Franklin, where Cleburne and the flower of Hood's army fell. 

After this they gallantly participated in the great battle and 
victory before Nashville. 

Thomas had taken up his headquarters at Nashville in order 
to concentrate. 

Schofield's instructions were to keep Hood in check as well 
as possible while Thomas was concentrating. 

Major General Steedman had fortified Chattanooga, which, 
with -its immense stores, was a place of considerable impor- 
tance. When he marched to form a junction with Thomas at 
Nashville, in order to prepare for the coming battle, which was 
imminent, he was succeeded by General Thomas F. Meagher, 
who had taken command of a division of convalescents and 
others, returning to join the army of the Tennessee. General 
Meagher's military government at Chattanooga gave general 
satisfaction. He organized the citizens, and compelled them to 
man the trenches, or help to build them up ; thus rendering the 
place impregnable. 

When General Steedman returned, after the battle of Nash- 
ville, he issued a general order, thanking General Meagher for 
bis able military administration in his absence. 

Sherman now returned, and encamped his army from Dalton 
to the Chattahoochee. In his absence, the rebel cavalry, under 
Iverson, had made several dashes upon General Slocum's lines. 
Slocum had contracted his lines around the city, and was able 
to repel their assaults. 

Provisions began to run short, and he had to send out 
frequent raiding parties. One of these, under General P. H. 



232 Sherman's march through the south. 

Jones, of Geary's division, had a brisk fight with the enemy, 
but succeeded in bringing in a large supply of provisions for 
" man and beast." Iverson's and Young's cavalry hung round 
Atlanta all the time, watching some chance of dashing in there ; 
but Slocum was too tried and cunning a soldier to be caught 
napping. 

There had been much conjecture as to whether Sherman 
planned the programme of his great marches through Georgia 
and the Carolinas himself, or whether they were planned by 
Grant, and merely carried out by Sherman. 

From my own observation, I know that the programme of 
the campaign originated with Sherman himself, at Gaylesville, 
but, of course, was submitted to Grant's approval. I know 
his instructions were, if possible, to drive the enemy across the 
Chattahoochee. Having done so, Atlanta lay in too tempting 
proximity, and was too easily within his grasp to be resisted. 

Again, in his marches through Georgia and South Carolina, 
when cut off from all communication, how often had he to 
change his line of march and programme, in order to baffle 
and isolate the enemy's forces ! 

Sherman knew the weakness of the Confederacy thoroughly. 
He knew they had no army capable of impeding his march 
through Southern Georgia. Hood's army was the only one 
capable of opposing him. Davis and Hood, in their blindness, 
had thrown this out of his way ; and now the course was clear, 
and he meant to take advantage of their blunders. Travelling 
with Sherman, seeing all his movements, my firm impression is, 
that he was the originator, as well as the operator. Grant 
always said that the Confederacy was a shell. Sherman knew 
that, and intended to prove it, too. 

Before we start with General Sherman, on his great raid 
through Southern Georgia, we will give a short resume of 
events. 

Sherman occupied Atlanta on the 2d of September. As soon 
as he took possession of the " Gate City," he began to plan his 
fall campaign. There was much conjecture as to what this 
would be, but he very wisely kept his counsel to himself. 



hood's movements. 233 

About the 24th of September, General Hood suddenly trans- 
ferred his army, by a flank movement, from Lovejoy's Station, 
on the Macon Railroad, to near Newman, on the West Point road. 
This movement looked as if Hood had divined the intentions 
of Sherman, and was making preparations to foil his plans. 

The incautious language of Jeff Davis at Macon led the 
country to suppose that this movement was preliminary to one 
more extensive; and General Sherman's suspicions were, ac- 
cordingly, aroused, for we find him sending his spare forces, 
wagons and guns, to the rear, under General Thomas, and, at 
the same time, sending Schofield, Newton, and Corse to take up 
different points in the rear of Atlanta. 

On the 27th, General Gerrard reported a move on the part 
of Hood towards the Chattahoochee. On the 1st of October, 
Generals Ransom and Fuller made a reconnoissance towards 
Newman, and discovered that Hood had crossed the Chatta- 
hoochee River on the 29th and 30th of September. Sherman 
immediately followed, declaring his intention to destroy Hood 
before he could commence his campaign through Southern 
Georgia. As Hood had a good start, Sherman felt it rather 
difficult to bring him to an engagement. However, he pressed 
so closely on his rear that he had not time to occupy the small 
posts along his route. 

This pursuit continued, with occasional skirmishes, until 
Hood slipped from Sherman at Gadsden, and crossed the Ten- 
nessee River. 

Sherman exclaimed, " Let him go north ; our business is 
down south." 

Rousseau and Wood's 4th corps, and Schofield's 23d corps, 
and Morgan's division, of the 14th corps, were along the Ten- 
nessee River. Steedman held Chattanooga, Bridgeport, and 
that line of railroad. 

Thomas was in Nashville, and General Smith was hurrying 
up his Mississippian army, all concentrating to meet Hood. 
They were more than a match for Hood in force, while there 
was no danger but the cool Thomas was able to meet him in 
strategy. 

20* 



234 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

Sherman now determined to resume his original intention. 
He gave up Hood, exclaiming, " If he will go to the river, I'll 
give him his rations." 

On November 4, the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 20th corps had all 
concentrated near Atlanta, and were making rapid preparations 
for a march, they knew not whither, nor did they care ; all they 
knew was, "it was 'all right; Old Billy knew what he was 
about." 

Sherman telegraphed, " Hood has crossed the Tennessee ; 
Thomas will take care of him and Nashville, while Schofield 
will not let him into Chattanooga or Knoxville. Georgia and 
South Carolina are at my mercy, and I shall strike. Do not 
be anxious about me ; I am all right." 

Sherman had laid down his programme, and there was noth- 
ing to obstruct him now. He knew he could reach the sea 
without a battle. 

On Sherman's return to Atlanta he issued an order for its 
immediate evacuation by all citizens who had not left in com- 
pliance with his first order. 

A great many, of thorough Union sentiments, liad remained, 
expecting the trouble would blow over. It was generally un- 
derstood that the city was to be evacuated and destroyed. It 
was pretty well known that Sherman was going to cut loose 
from all communications, and to destroy all the factories, foun- 
deries, railroads, mills, and all government property, between 
Atlanta and Chattanooga, thus preventing the rebels from using 
them in his rear. 

The citizens who had not joined the first exodus were afraid 
of being abandoned to the tender mercies of the rebels. 

The depot presented a scene of confusion and suffering sel- 
dom witnessed. 

Women and children were huddled together, while men, who 
had lately been millionaires, were now. frantically rushing about, 
trying to procure transportion, and forced to give their last dol- 
lar to some exacting conductor or railway official. An order 
had been issued by General Easton providing all these people 
with free transportation ; but several of his employees and rail- 



GENERAL EASTON. 235 

road officials could not see it in that light. They saw that the 
thing could be made to pay, and they did make it pay. 

General Easton knew nothing of this shamefid extortion. 
Of General L. C. Easton I must say, few men contributed more 
to Sherman's success. As chief quartermaster he was energetic 
in getting forward supplies, and in overcoming the many diffi- 
culties that opposed their transmission. It is highly creditable 
to him how admirably such an immense army was fed, and at 
such a distance from its base. 

The question of supplies was an important one, and one on 
which depended the success or failure of the campaign ; and to 
General Easton's credit be it said, that during our arduous 
campaign to Atlanta the army never ran short of a single day's 
rations. 

He knew nothing, though, of the extortion practised on the 
poor fugitives. He had assigned that department to a Captain 
S — , who, I am credibly informed, had collected some valu- 
able furniture, under pretence of keeping it safe from those who 
left at first. 

He had also gone to reside in a lady's house who had gone 
north, with the promise of protecting the place and furniture. 
He is said to have acted in collusion with railway conductors 
and officials, and transported all this north. In his employ was 
a tall, lean, lank ruffian, named P , who was fit for noth- 
ing but plots and dark deeds, who did all the dirty work, and 
handsomely feathered his own nest. These fellows were after- 
wards court-martialed, I do not know with what result. 

Colonel B , too, is said to have acted with ofiensive 

hauteur towards the poor people. If any complained to him, 
he arrogantly told them he had nothing tO do with such things ; 
they were a lying, rebel pack. 

They were afraid to complain. They were too anxious to 
get oflT, and the dishonest employees told them for days that the 
next train would be the last that would go. In some cases they 
gave all they had to be let go, and in many cases paid as high 
as one hundred dollars to conductors and others to get off, 
though all the time provided with free passages. 



236 Sherman's march through the south. 

In some cases they managed to divide families, so that they 
could extort the more from those remaining. 

I wanted myself to get a poor soldier, who was going home 
to die, inside on one of the cars. Though they were full of 
strapping, healthy negroes, who were either servants to the ex- 
tortioners, or had the almighty dollars to pay their way, I 
could not gain admittance for the poor fellow. A few dollars 
in a conductor's pocket were of more importance than his com- 
fort or safety. I gave him my blanket and oil-cloth, but I 
have since learned he never reached home, for when taken off 
the top of the cars at Chattanooga he was found dead. 

I simply mention these facts as a caution to generals not to 
place too much confidence in employees, unless they are well 
tried and tested* 

The Burning of Atlanta, 

Sherman's orders were, that Atlanta should be destroyed by 
ihe rear-guard of the army, and two regiments were detailed 
for that purpose. Although the army, cantoned along the 
Chattanooga line of railroad, towards Kingston and Marietta, 
did not pass through imtil the 16th, the first fire burst out on 
the night of Friday, the 11th of November, in a block of wooden 
tenements on Decatur Street, where eight buildings were de- 
stroyed. 

Soon after, fires burst out in other parts of the city. These 
certainly were the works of some of the soldiers, who expected 
to get some booty under cover of the fires. 

The fire engines were about being shipped for Chattanooga, 
but were soon brought in, and brought to bear on the burning 
districts. 

The patrol guards were doubled, and orders issued to shoot 
down any person seen firing buildings. Very little effort had 
been made to rescue the city from the devouring elements, for 
they knew that the fiat had gone forth consigning it to destruc- 
tion. Over twenty houses were burned that night, and a dense 
cloud of smoke, like a funeral pall, hung over the ruins next 
mominpr. 



THE BURNING OF ATLANTA. 237 

General Slocum offered a reward of five hundred dollars for 
the apprehension of anv soldier caught in the act of incen- 
diarism. Though Slocum knew that the city was doomed, 
according to his just notions of things it should be done 
officially. Xo officer or soldier had a right to fire it without 
orders. 

It was hard to restrain the soldiers from burning it down. 
With that licentiousness that characterizes an army they wanted 
a bonfire. 

The last train for Chattanooga left on Saturday night, No- 
vember 12. Xext morning, the 14th, loth, and 17th corps 
commenced their march from Kjngston and Marietta, where 
they had been resting ten days, while Sherman was making 
preparations for his new campaign. They destroyed Eome, 
Kingston, and Marietta, on their march, and tore up the track, 
setting on fire sleepers, railroad depots, and stores, back to the 
Etowah. 

An immense amount of government property, which we 
could not transport to the rear, or carry along with us, had 
been destroyed at the different depots. Coffee sacks, cracker 
boxes, sugar and pork barrels, bales of blankets and boxes of 
clothing, were burst open and strewn about and burned. Soldiers 
were loaded with blankets and supplies, which they got tired of 
before night, and flung away. It is said that about three million 
of dollars worth of property had been destroyed in this way. 

On Sunday night a kind of long streak of light, like an 
aurora, marked the line of march, and the burning stores, 
depots, and bridges, in the train of the army. 

The Michigan engineers had been detailed to destroy the 
depots and public buildings in Atlanta. Everything in the way 
of destruction was now considered legalized. The workmen 
tore up the rails and piled them on the smoking fires. TVin- 
ship's iron foundery and machine shops were early set on fire. 
This valuable property was calculated to be worth about half a 
million of dollars. 

An oil refinery near by next got on fire, and was soon in a 
fierce blaze. Xext followed a freight warehouse, in which were 



238 Sherman's march through the south. 

stored several bales of cotton. The depot, turning-tables, 
freight, sheds, and stores around, were soon a fiery mass. The 
heart was burning out of beautiful Atlanta. 

The few people that had remained in the city fled, scared by 
the conflagration and the dread of violence. 

Some ruffians ran with brands to fire the churches, which 
were considerably retired. The Roman Catholic minister. Fa- 
ther O'Reiley, who was the only minister that remained in 
town, met them, and upbraided them for their impious sacrilege. 
Even these hardened men of Avar shrank before virtue and truth, 
and the good priest not only saved his own church, but also 
those of his fellow-Christians. 

The Atlanta Hotel, Washington Hall, and all the square 
around the railroad depot, were soon in one sheet of flame. 

Drug stores, dry goods stores, hotels, negro marts, theatres, 
and grog shops, were all now feeding the fiery element. Worn- 
out wagons and camp equipage were piled up in the depot, 
and added to the fury of the flames. 

A stone warehouse was blown up by a mine. Quartermasters 
ran away, leaving large stores behind. The men plunged 
into the houses, broke windows and doors with their muskets, 
dragging out armfuls of clothes, tobacco, and whiskey, which 
was more welcome than all the rest. The men dressed them- 
selves in nev/ clothes, and then flung the rest into the fire. 

The streets were now in one fierce sheet of flame ; houses 
were falling on all sides, and fiery flakes of cinders were whirled 
about. Occasionally shells exploded, and excited men rushed 
through the choking atmosphere, and hurried away from the 
city of ruins. 

At a distance the city seemed overshadowed by a cloud of 
black smoke, through which, now and then, darted a gushing 
flame of fire, or projectiles hurled from the burning ruin. 

The sun looked, through the hazy cloud, like a blood-red ball 
of fire ; and the air, for miles around, felt oppressive and in- 
tolerable. The Tyre of the south was laid in ashes, and the 
*' Gate City" was a thing of the past. 



SPECULATIONS ON SHERMAN'S MARCH SOUTH. 239 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE MARCH TO THE SEA COMMENCES. - HOW THE ARMY SUP- 
PLIED ITSELF. — SHERMAN AMONG HIS MEN. -SACK OF MADI- 
SON. — NEGRO AUXILIARIES.— FARM- YARD AND PLANTATION 
SCENE 

Atlanta had fallen ; it was in ruins. A new campaign was 
inaugurated, and was about to start. Conjectures were rife as 
to what was its object or destination. The politicians and 
quidnuncs of the north discussed the subject ; it was a prolific 
one. The newspapers speculated about it. AYhat Sherman 
had next in hand was the question of the day. The most ab- 
sorbing interest as to his future movements was felt on all sides : 
not only through the north, where thousands speculated finan- 
cially and commercially upon it, and through the south, whose 
destiny seemed to hang on the issue, but also in Europe it was 
a matter of doubt and conjecture whether Sherman would 
attempt a march through Southern Georgia. Croaking prophets 
augured all sorts of evil. 

Sherman, removed from his supplies, in the heart of an 
enemy's country, with the hand of every man, woman, and 
child raised against him, — "What can he expect but defeat 
and disaster?" asked one. 

" Then," said another, " how will he support his army?" 

" On the country, to be sure." 

" All very fine ; but the enemy's cavalry, and the inhabitants 
themselves, will burn.and destroy all provisions in his track ; 
they will leave the country a barren waste, a howling wilder- 
ness. He will perish himself, and his army with him. It will 
be a second edition of the French retreat from Moscow." 

So said the croakers ; so said the rebel sympathizers ; so said 
the English press, — for with them the wish was father to the 



240 Sherman's march through the south. 

thought. The London Post., speaking of it in anticipation of 
its results, said, — 

" The Federal papers several weeks ago announced the de- 
termination to transfer the winter campaign to the cotton states, 
and this, it would seem, is the preliminary movement. Which- 
ever of the two movements Sherman has in view, it is evident 
that he calculates largely upon the weakness of the country 
through which he designs to march, or its disloyalty to the Con- 
federacy. In both calculations, we are induced, with good 
reason, to believe that he will be greatly mistaken. It will be 
the fault of the people inhabiting those countries, if his army 
be not utterly destroyed long before it shall have reached either 
Mobile, Savannah, or Charleston." 

The London Times said, *" The movement seems, as far as 
we can judge, to resemble the celebrated march of Napoleon in 
1814 to St. Dizer, by which he threw himself upon the commu- 
nications of the allied armies, then marching on Paris. If this 
enterprise be brought to a successful termination. General Sher- 
man nvill undoubtedly be entitled to the honor of having added 
a fresh chapter to the theory and practice of modern warfare. 
The worst of such enterprises as Sherman's is, that they allow 
nothing for the chapter of accidents, proverbially so potent in" 
war, and that the slightest and most unforeseen causes may lead 
to their defeat and ruin. We had our own experience in the 
tremendous disaster of Saratoga, undertaken, it might be 
thought, under auspices far more promising than the expedition 
of Sherman ; in the ruin which overtook Braddock ; and in the 
failure of the expedition against Quebec, by the brave American 
general, Montgomery. It will be strange, indeed, if the army 
of General Sherman should arrive before Savannah, after such 
a march, conducted under such difficulties, in condition to 
attack and storm a town so well fortified and so strenuously 
defended." 

The Liverpool Courier., and other leading foreign journals, 
spoke of it as one of the boldest military movements on record, 
but agreed that it Avas more likely to be disastrous to Sherman 
and his army than to the Confederates. 



Sherman's foresight. 241 

The southern press, too, in their usual boasting manner, 
declared that Sherman had now thrown himself into the trap 
prepared for him ; that he was surrounded by enemies on all 
sides, and would be starved and crushed. All these kind warn- 
ings had no effect on Sherman. He had weighed the conse- 
quences and calculated the means, and was now prepared to 
test the issue. Sherman thoroughly understood the strength of 
the south; he knew its weak points. At the very inception 
of the war, he showed his complete knowledge of the ma"-ni- 
tude it would assume ; for when asked how many men it would 
take to crush the war in the south-western states, he replied, 
two hundred thousand. Two hundred thousand! The gov- 
ernment at Washington, including Stanton and Halleck, thought 
he was mad; and the papers, to some extent, indorsed the 
assertion. He was like a man possessed of some great idea, 
which he saw through clearly himself, yet he could not get others 
to believe him. The subject was too stupendous and complex 
for them. So it was Avith Sherman ; but subsequent events 
proved his foresight and his true knowledge of the nature of 
the struj^gle. 

There was another class, whose confidence in Sherman was 
unbounded ; that is, his soldiers. They never stopped to ques- 
tion where they were going. I overheard the following conver- 
sation near a camp-fire, which gives a good idea of the faith of 
the soldiers in their leader. A long, dark streak of smoke 
obscured the heavens along our line of march, illumined here 
and there by a blazing farm-house. The men were seated 
around the fire, smoking, and talking, or sipping their coffee. 
One man exclaimed, — 

"Look around, boys; I reckon 'Old Billy' has set the 
world on fire." 

" Why, darn it, ' Old Billy ' has nothing to do with it ; it's 
ourselves that are making the bonfires." 

" Specks so •; guess it's all right, anyhow." 

" Why wouldn't it be right? Old Billy wouldn't have done 
it otherwise." 

" True," was the reply. 
21 



242 Sherman's march through the south. 

" But," said the other, " any of yc reckon, boys, where we 
are going to ? " 

" Yes," said another, winking around to his comrades ; " I 
had a private talk with Old Billy himself, and he told me that 
wc were going, going — would ye guess it?" 

Some of them guessed different places ; and the man that 
asked the question replied, tartly, — 

" To hell ! " 

" O, no," said the other. " I have no doubt but that will be 
the end of your journey ; but we are going — somewhere." 

There was a general laugh at the sell ; then an old, gray- 
headed veteran said, — 

" I tell ye, boys, we should never ask where are we going, 
or what are we going to do. Obedience is the duty of a soldier ; 
and whatever Old Billy says or does is right. He does the 
plotting and flanking ; let us do the fighting, and things will go 
on well." 

" Bully for Old Billy ! we'll follow him," was the response 
of his audience. 

Sherman issued a special field order, dated Kingston, No- 
vember 8, in which he informs his troops that he had organized 
them into an army for a special purpose, well known to the war 
department and to General Grant. "It is sufficient for you to 
know," he said, " that it involves a departure from our present 
base, and a long and difficult march to a new one. All the 
chances of war have been considered and provided for, as far 
as human sagacity can." And further, he exhorted the men to 
maintain discipline, and not scatter about as stragglers or fora- 
gers, and also instructed the officers to send all surplus baggage, 
servants, and non-combatants to the rear. 

On the following day he issued another order, in which he 
said, — 

" For the purpose of military operations, this army is divided 
into two wings, viz. : The right wing, Major General O. O. 
Howard, commanding the 15th and 17th corps; the left wing, 
Major General H. W. Slocum, commanding the 14th and 20th 
corps. 



PERVERSION QF ARMY ORDERS. 243 

" The army will forage liberally on the country during the 
march. To this end each brigade commander will organize 
a good and efficient foraging party, under command of one or 
more discreet officers. To regular foraging parties must be 
intrusted the gathering of provisions and forage at any distance 
from the roads travelled. 

"As for horses, mules, wagons, &c., the cavalry and ar- 
tillery may appropriate freely and without limit. Foraging 
parties may also take mules or horses to replace the jaded 
animals of their trains, or to serve as pack-mules for the regi- 
ments or brigades." 

These orders were all right, if literally carried out ; but they 
were soon converted into licenses for indiscriminate plunder. 
The followers of an army, in the shape of servants, hangers- 
on, and bummers, are generally as numerous as the effi^ctive 
force. Every brigade and regiment had its organized, foraging 
party, which were joined by every officer's servant and idler 
about the camps. 

These, scattered over the country, without any order or disci- 
pline, pounced like harpies on the unfortunate inhabitants, 
stripping them of all provisions, jewelry, and valuables they 
could discover. 

In most instances they burned down houses to cover their 
depredations, and in some cases took the lives of their victims, 
as they would not reveal concealed treasures. These gangs 
spread like locusts over the country. In all cases where the 
foraging parties were under the command of a respectable 
officer, they acted with propriety, simply taking what pro- 
visions and necessaries they needed. They might as well have 
stripped the place, though, for soon came the bummers, and 
commenced a scene of ruin and pillage. Boxes were burst 
open ; clothes dragged about ; the finest silks, belonging to the 
planters* ladies, carried off to adorn some negro wenches around 
camp ; pictures, books, furniture, all tossed about and torn in 
pieces. Though these wretches were acting against military 
orders, there was no one to complain. The planter and his 
family were thankful if they escaped with their lives ; and as 



244 Sherman's march through the south. 

to their comrades, they were too deep in the pie themselves to 
complain of a system which was enriching them. 

The notion seemed to prevail south that Sherman would strike 
for Macon ; therefore all available troops, comprising Iverson's 
cavalry, and some scattered militia force, were guarding the 
Jonesboro' road. 

On the morning of the 15th of November, the 20th corps 
moved out on the Decatur road unopposed. 

At daylight next morning the different columns had taken up 
their line of march; the 17th corps on the McDonough road, 
the 14th on the Augusta road, with the 20th corps on the left 
flank, and the 15th on the right. 

Tlie first day's march was rather slow, in order to give time 
to sluggard wagons and teams to get into position. The troops 
were noisy and cheerful ; full of hope and excitement. Though 
all superfluous baggage and trains had been sent to the rear, 
still our train numbered about two thousand wagons, and would, 
if stretched out in one line, extend about twenty miles. 

The left wing was moving in a north-easterly direction, and 
the opinion gained ground that we were striking for Augusta. 
We passed by Stone Mountain, the column winding along 
its base. 

Stone Mountain is a remarkable curiosity. It is said to be 
over two thousand feet above the level of the plain, and is- 
about seven miles in circumference. The view of this moun- 
tain is exceedingly grand and imposing. One side presents 
almost a perpendicular surface, or wall, nearly nine hundred 
feet high. The eastern side is not perpendicular, but exhibits a 
broken and jagged surface, deeply marked with furrows. After 
a heavy fall of rain these channels are the beds of thundering 
waterfalls, with the angry surge flashing and sparkling, and 
bounding from rock to rock. 

On the summit of the hill are the ruins of an old fortifica- 
tion, whose history and purpose are both unknown. Two deep 
fissures, like caves, cross one another on the mountain. At its 
foot is a clear spring of cool, sparkling water, gushing from 
a bed of white sand. 



SOCIAL CIRCLE. 245 

This strange mountain stands alone, looking like a huge loaf 
of sugar — a puzzle to antiquarians and geologists, and a source 
of wonder and pride to travellers. 

We crossed the Yellow Elver in the afternoon. As the bridges 
had not been destroyed, it was evident that there was no enemy 
in our front. When approaching Social Circle, Lieutenant Colo- 
nel Hughes, in command of the 9th Illinois mounted infantry, 
which was covering the advance, dashed into the village, and 
nearly succeeded in capturing a wagon train. He burned 
the depot, and captured a rebel surgeon and about three 
thousand dollars in gold. 

Social Circle was a dirty little village of shanties, superannu- 
ated negroes, woolly picaninnies rolling in the dust, and squatting 
like huge monkeys on the fences, and half-naked, snuff-begrimed 
white women, who seemed to look upon the whole thing as a 
grand review for their especial benefit. An old negress raised 
her hands piously and bowed. " I'm bressed if I thought there 
were so many of God's critters in de world at all." 

In the evening Ave halted near Ulcofavuhachee, a miserable, 
muddy stream, with a high-sounding name. 

" Living off the country " was fast becoming the order. The 
men knew that Sherman had started with some sixteen days' 
supplies, and they wished to preserve them if possible ; besides, 
they thought that a change of diet would be good for their 
health. There was nothing to be got the first two days' march, 
as the country all around Atlanta had been foraged by Slocum's 
corps while hemmed in there. Now we were opening on a 
country where pits of sweet potatoes, yards of poultry and hogs, 
and cellars of bacon and flour, were making their appearance. 
A new spirit began to animate the men ; they were as busy as 
so many bees about a honey-pot, and commenced important 
voyages of discovery, and returned well laden with spoils. 
Foragers, bummers, and camp followers scattered over the 
country for miles, and black clouds of smoke showed where 
they had been. Small lots of cotton were found near most of 
the plantation houses. These, with the gins and presses, were 
burned, oftentimes firing the houses and ofiices. Near Madison 

m 21* ^ 



246 Sherman's march through the south. 

we parsed some wealthy plantations ; one, the property of a 
Mr. Lane, Avho was courteous enough to wait to receive us, was 
full of decrepit, dilapidated negroes, presided over by a few 
brimstone-looking white ladies. They were viciously rabid, and 
only wished they could eat us with the same facility that the 
troops consumed all the edibles on the place, and eloped with 
plump grunters and indignant roosters, and their families. 

The 20th corps encamped near Madison that night. The cav- 
alry had the advance, burned the depot, and cleared out the 
town pretty well. Madison is situated on the Augusta line, and 
was a town of near two thousand inhabitants before the war. 
It is the county seat of Morgan County, and is about one hun- 
dred and two miles from Augusta. The face of the country 
about here is undulating. The lands are of the richest and 
best kind of mulatto soil, from Madison, extending across the 
country from east to west, bordering on the waters of Little Oco- 
nee and Apalachee Rivers, and Indian and Sugar Creeks. Mad- 
ison is said to be remarkable for the beauty of its buildings and 
streets, and its pretty women. About the women I cannot say 
much, for we saw none but either the decrepit or wizen-faced, 
who were too old to fear any assault. The pretty ones kept in- 
side doors, if at home at all. I expect they were, though, for 
several shutters were half open, and blinds half raised, partic- 
ularly while the bands were playing " Dixie ; " but as soon as it 
struck up ''Yankee Doodle," they were suddenly dropped and 
slammed to. Some of the houses were very fine — built of 
brick, surrounded with lovely lawns, flower-gardens, and con- 
servatories. In the centre is the Court House, where law, and not 
justice, was administered to the white man, and stripes to his 
black brother. 

Our troops entered the town next morning, and a brigade was 
detailed to destroy all the works around the depot and railroad 
track, also to burn a pile of nearly two hundred bales of cotton 
in a hut near. While this work was being executed, the strag- 
glers, who manage to get to the front when there is plunder in 
view, and vagabonds of the army, crowded into the town, and 
the work of pillage went on with a vengeance. Stores were 



SACK OF MADISON. 247 

ripped open ; goods, valuables, and plate, all suddenly and mys- 
teriously disappeared. I say mysteriously, for if you were to 
question the men about it, not one of them admitted having a 
hand in it. Grinning negroes piloted the army, and appeared 
to be in their element. They called out, " Here, massa ; I guess 
we gwine to get some brandy here." The doors would at once 
be forced open, the cellars and shelves emptied, and everything 
tossed about in the utmost confusion. If a good store chanced 
to be struck, the rush for it was immense. Some of those in- 
side, being satisfied themselves, would fling bales of soft goods, 
hardware, harness, and other miscellaneous articles, through the 
windows. I have seen fellows carry off a richly gilt mirror, 
and when they got tired of it, dash it against the ground. A 
piano was a much prized article of capture. I have often 
witnessed the ludicrous sight of a lot of bearded, rough soldiers 
capering about the room in a rude waltz, while some fellow was 
thumping away unmercifully at the piano, with another cutting 
grotesque capers on the top-board. When they got tired of this 
saturnalia, the piano was consigned to the flames, and most, 
likely the house with it. The wreck of Madison was pretty 
effective, too. All the stores were gutted, and the contents 
scattered and broken around. Cellars of rich wine were dis- 
covered, and prostrate men gave evidence of its strength, with- 
out any revenue test. A milliner's establishment was sacked, 
and gaudy ribbons and artificial flowers decorated the caps of 
the pretty fellows that had done it. Their horses and the ne- 
gro wenches, too, came in for a share of the decorative spoils. 
One fellow created a great deal of amusement by riding down 
the street, kissing and embracing a female form, which he 
hugged before him on the saddle, and then squeaked and cried, 
as if she was kicking up a rumpus at such liberties. 

" I say, Ned, where did you catch the prize?" called out one 
of his comrades. 

" Why, Fred, is that you ! Up there ; there is a little colony 
of them in it ; go get one for yourself." 

" I guess not. Ned, if she makes such a fuss as that one 
about it." 



248 Sherman's march through the south. 

" Isn't there any one in the crowd will protect a poor, lone 
femala from such violence ? " squeaked Ned for the figure. " O, 
O ! is there any man here at all?" sobbed the female. 

An officer who heard the appeal, riding up to Ned with a 
cocked pistol, demanded, — 

" Halt, you scoundrel, and let go that lady." 

" Now, captain, I reckon I'm no more a scoundrel than you ; 
and as to the lady, you may take her with pleasure." 

Ned bobbed her around in a most helpless way. 

*' Dear me," exclaimed the captain, " she is in a faint." 

" By h — 1, she hasn't a word," said Ned. 

" Ruffian, hand her to me, tenderly ! " and the captain alighted 
to take down the poor lady. Ned handed her to him, and then 
rode off. Fancy the captain's indignation when he found that 
it was only a wire and wax figure, richly dressed for a show 
window. He soon let it drop, mounted his horse, said some 
very hard prayers, and rode off amidst the suppressed titters of 
the delighted crowd. 

This scene lasted until the head of the column under General 
Slocum arrived, when the town was at once cleared out of these 
marauders, and guards placed while the troops were passing. 

The left Aving had destroyed the Augusta line along their 
march. The right wing had moved by McDonagh to Jackson 
without encountering an enemy. The rebels were making some 
little show to the cavalry on our flanks, but did not as yet at- 
tempt to give battle. The negroes were joining us in crowds. 
Near every cross-road and plantation, we would meet groups 
of old men and women, and young children, who received us 
with shouts of joy, exclaiming, " Glory be to de Lord ; bress 
de Lord, the day of jubilou is come ; dis nigger is off to glory," 
and fell in with their sable friends in the rear, without even 
asking where we were going, or what we would do with them. 
Such was their simple faith that they trudged along, '* bressing 
de Lord, de day of jubilou is come." Many of them had rea- 
son to regret their desire for liberty. With them, liberty too 
often meant plenty to eat and wear, and nothing to do. They 
found that it meant hardship, hunger, and cold ; for many of them 



AN OBSTREPEROUS-SUBMISSIVE OFFICER. 249 

perished along the way from fatigue and the hardship of the 
march. 

When the columns halted, or when we bivouacked for the 
night, Sherman was always poking around by himself. 

On one occasion he was crossing to a certain general's quar- 
ters ; but losing his way, he called at an officer's tent. The 
flies were down, and the officer was enjoying a snooze for him- 
self. Sherman knocked at the canvas. 

"Who is that?" said the officer, impatient at being dis- 
turbed. 

" Could you tell me where General 's quarters are ? " 

" How the h— 1 do I know? " 

" Ain't you a quartermaster in his division ? " 

" That's not the reason I'd go fish up his quarters for every 
one that comes hunting them." 

Just then a clerk was going into his master's tent, most likely 
to tell him whom he was addressing. 

Sherman tapped him on the shoulder, and said, " My man, 

I'm General Sherman ; I want to go to General ; will 

you please show me the way ? " 

" General Sherman ! " exclaimed the lazy consequential quar- 
termaster, jumping up and stammering out a host of confused 
apologies, " I'll go with you." 

" No, no," said the general, sneeringly ; " you are too well 
engaged ; I won't trespass on your time ; this man will come 
with me." 

The snubbed quartermaster, who was puffed up with vain 
conceit and a little brief authority, slunk back, while Sherman 
and his guide went on their way. 

When we discovered large quantities of molasses, there was 
sure to be such a rush for it, that oftentimes more was 
wasted than used. On one occasion the men had a regular 
squabble about a new discovery, and, in their impatience, had 
upset a barrel. There was a furious crush, and every appear- 
ance of a little shindy. Sherman chanced to be strolling about, 
and, with much trouble, edged his way in among the crowd, 
and dipped his finger in the sirup and tasted it, remarking, 



250 

" Boys^ that's good ! see all you have spilt here by your crowd- 
ing ; if you only keep order, there is enough for all here ; fall 
back, now, and let only a couple at a time fill their canteens." 

He then placed a guard over the sorghum, to prevent any 
more of it being wasted. 

From Madison General John Geary's command made a de- 
tour, in light marching order, to Buckhead Station, ten miles on 
the Georgia Railroad, and destroyed all the railroad buildings 
and tore up the track. Thence he marched to the Oconee River, 
and burned the railroad bridge over that stream. He then 
moved along the left bank of the river, burning several bridges, 
mills, and tanneries on his route. 

Sherman's left was now threatening Augusta ; his right, Ma- 
con. The enemy, believing that he was aiming at those points, 
had concentrated there, leaving our right unimpeded. Kil- 
patrick, who was covering our extreme right, had instructions 
to demonstrate against Macon. This he did, thus confirming 
the rebels in their ignorance. 

The country lying between Madison, Covington, and Mil- 
ledgeville, is a perfect garden ; and though not literally teeming 
with milk and honey, it was teeming with something better — 
farmyards well stocked with hogs and poultry, stacks of corn 
fodder, corn-houses, and bins filled with corn and grain. Sweet 
potatoes and negroes seemed to grow spontaneously. Hogs 
grunted a welcome on every side — fine, sleek hogs, that strut- 
ted about with snobbish dignity ; young, petulant hogs, that 
cocked up their noses in disdain at the Yankees. The Yankees, 
not to be outdone in politeness, soon cocked up their feet. 
Poor, timid sheep, and submissive cattle, swinging huge bells, 
as if tolling a requiem over the desolation around, looked won- 
deringly upon the foragers as they came down in fell swoop 
upon the farmyard, and patiently submitted to their fate. 

The left column was now closing on Milledgeville. They 
had struck the Eatonton Branch Railroad, twenty-two miles 
from Milledgeville. 

We revelled in the splendid homes and palatial residences of 
some of the wealthy planters here. The men, with that free 



CONVIVIAL SCENES. 251 

and easy, devil-may-care sort of way, so characteristic of sol- 
diers, made themselves quite as much at home iu the fine house 
of the planter as in the shanty of the poor Avhite trash or the 
negro. They helped themselves, freely and liberally, to every- 
thing they wanted, or did not want. It mattered little which. 

When near Milledgeville, an amusing incident occurred at 
the plantation of a Mr. Jordan, who was said to be worth a 
mint of money. 

Mr. Jordan was quite taken by surprise at General Sherman's 
visit, and was not able to clear out anything but himself from 
the Yankee Vandals. The house was richly furnished and 
adorned with pictures, paintings, rich furniture, and plate. He 
left his overseer, who was formerly from New York, to receive 
his friends, which he did in the most generous manner. 

He received the officers with open arms and smiling counte- 
nance. His eyes were actually wet with joy at the unexpected 
pleasure. The cellar was emptied of its best and richest wines. 
Venerable brandy bottles were exhumed, frowy with age and 
mellowness, and he drank, batch after batch of officers, out of 
the house. He was voted a brick, and a guard placed on the 
house. As for the rank and file, though they threw many a 
wistful glance in through the windows, they had to confine 
themselves to a skirmish with the poultry and hogs around the 
yard, which they soon cleared out. Mr. Allen had succeeded 
in drinking a whole division, when he encountered Colonel H. 
Barnum. The colonel is something of a wag, and was well 
versed in all the arts and sciences of compounding mixed 
drinks. 

" Colonel, isn't that splendid? " remarked Mr. Allen, holding 
a full glass of old Burgundy between him and the light. 

" Yes, I must confess it's very good ; but just try some of 
this ! " and the colonel took out a flask, and poured out a large 
glassful of it, remarking, *' This is some of our northern strong 
wine ; I guess they made none of this there in your time ! " 

" I should say not," replied Mr. Allen, draining the contents. 

Mr. Allen now became very noisy, insisting that every one 
should drink, men and all, while there was a drop on the prem- 



252 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

ises. He soon reeled about, and keeled over. The officers 
took him up, and placed him on the bed, laid a sheet over, with 
a label, for the information of following officers : " Dead drunk, 
by his own acts." 

I am sure Mr. Allen felt rather surprised, when he came to 
himself, both at finding himself abed, and the house untouched. 



r 



ENTRY INTO MILLEDGEVILLE. 253 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE AKMY IN MILLEDGEVILLE. — FLIGHT OP THE GOVERNMENT 
AND LEGISLATURE. — A MOCK SESSION IN THE CAPITOL. — OUR 
CAVALRY MOVEMENTS. — THE JEW AND THE GENERAL. — THE 
WAY SHERMAN'S ARMY LIVED ON THE COUNTRY. 

About noon, on the 22cl of November, the advance of the 
left wing reached Milledgeville. 

General Slocum was received by the mayor, who surrendered 
the city, requesting that life and private property might be re- 
spected. 

The troops entered playing national airs, and their banners 
flying. Soon after the stars and stripes floated from the State 
House. 

Governor Brown had delivered a very inflammatory speech 
to the legislators, on Saturday the 17th, telling them that the 
Yankee Vandals were approaching the capital, to destroy, pol- 
lute, and devastate all before them. He exhorted and entreated 
every member here present to seize, his musket and meet the 
ruthless invaders. As for himself, he was resolved to defend his 
home to the last. 

His glowing philippic seemed to infuse a spirit of patriotism 
into the legislative body. The members loudly cheered, and 
went home to furbish their arms. A report ran through the 
city that the Yankee cavalry were approaching ; and then all 
their courage, like Bob Acres's, ran through their fingers' ends. 

They hastily packed their traps, and fled. Governor Brown 
heading the runaways, on to Macon. This was followed by a 
regular stampede, which was greatly accelerated next day by 
the appearance of Captain Duncan and some ten scouts, who 
made a dash into the town, scaring away all the men, except 
the poor craven mayor, who went into hysterics. 
22 



254 Sherman's march through the south. 

The .women, of course, remained, but were saucy and indig- 
nant enough to fight it out themselves. One lady, whose lord 
had joined the retreat, and who felt very bitter at such a mean 
piece of cowardice, informed us how it all took place. 

" The cowardly, mean set ! " she exclaimed. " I tell you, I'd 
sooner see my husband dead at my feet than such a skunk. 
Some Yankee scouts came dashing, pellmell, into the town, 
when the men — the mean, craven-hearted wretches ! — skedad- 
dled, leaving our baby mayor to surrender the town uncon- 
ditionally to five greasy Yankees, ten miles in advance of the 
army. Faugh on them ! the chicken-hearted wretches ! and 
the mayor a puffed-up old fool. Had I been in town I'd have 
collected all the women, and driven the skunks out with mop- 
handles and broomsticks ! " 

Milledgeville, the capital of Georgia, is rather a pleasant 
looking town, with a population of about three thousand. It is 
situated on a bluff, in the midst of a fine cotton-growing coun- 
try, on the west side of the Oconee River. 

Some of the residences are very fine, and built of brick. 
Delightful gardens, tasteful lawns, and spacious streets give 
the whole place an air of comfort and elegance. 

The Capitol, which is a very imposing brown stone building, is 
built on a ten-acre square, in the centre of the town, and is 
flanked on each corner by a small, but tasteful, church. 

Trophy-hunters, boisterous negroes, who did not know what 
to do with themselves and their freedom, drunken soldiers, all 
revelled now about the State House. The library was ran- 
sacked by the literati, and archives and books carried off in 
loads. Minerals, fossils, state bonds, and state money were at 
a discount. 

Stacks of Georgia state money were found in the treasurer's 
office. There were millions of dollars there, the most of it 
not signed. The men loaded themselves with it ; the negroes 
fought over it, and " bressed de Lord, dey were richer dan poor 
massa now." 

This money circulated freely, on the march, in exchange for 
chickens, bacon, and other little luxuries, and the poor people 



THE RUNAWAY CHIVALRY. 255 

were gratefully surprised at the liberality of Uncle Sara's 
Yanks. 

The fright of the honorable body of legislators must have 
been amusing. They scarcely knew where to run or what to do. 
They heard that our left wing was moving on Augusta, and 
they felt secure. Then Howard threatened them from McDon- 
ough and they shivered again. Then our cavalry and right 
wing were striking for Macon, and they became valiant again, 
and made fiery speeches of the last-ditch style. News came 
that a column was moving right on the capital, and the cavalry 
were in sight of the city. 

This was too much for the Falstaff heroes, and they fled in 
such confusion that the railroad cars became crowded to an 
excess with furniture, private property, and goods, and fabulous 
sums were given for any kind of conveyances. They were 
frantically running about, like King Richard, exclaiming, " A 
horse, a horse, my estate for a horse ! " Buggies, barouches, 
and other vehicles fetched thousands of dollars. They had 
only the one outlet for escape, and they trembled lest the Van- 
dals would pounce down on them every minute. 

General Sherman took up his quarters uninvited at the exec- 
utive mansion, Governor Brown, with very bad grace, not wait- 
ing to receive him. 

General Slocum had placed a provost guard through the city, 
with strict orders to arrest any one found pillaging, and to pro- 
tect all private property. 

Colonel Hawley, of the 3d Wisconsin, was appointed com- 
mandant of the post, and established his headquarters in the 
State House, after which all scientific and literary investiga- 
tions were put a stop to. 

The only property destroyed were the magazines, arsenals, 
depots, factories, the penitentiary, which some lawless soldiers 
had fired, and released the inmates for the benefit of Georgia 
society, and storehouses, with near two thousand bales of cotton. 

No private property was destroyed, and the people began 
to think that the devil was not so black as he was painted, 
after all. 



256 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

Convening the Legislature. 

As Governor Brown and the congregated wisdom of Georgia 
had taken a French leave of absence, and as striking events 
were developing, it was thought advisable that an extraordinary 
meeting of the house should be convened. In pursuance of 
said call, a full house had assembled. The halls and chambers 
were croAvded with honorable members in blue. The meeting 
was held in the Senate Chamber ; the subject under discussion 
was, the reorganization of the State of Georgia. 

Colonel J. C. Robinson was elected president ; Lieutenant 
Colonel H. C. Rogers, clerk ; Captain "W. W. Mosely was ap- 
pointed sergeant-at-arms to assist the pages. Mayors Gwindow, 
Crane, and others, in keeping order and decently laying out 
under the table any member seized with Bourbon fits, which 
disease was rather prevalent among the honorable members. 
The honorable body took their seats in the usual riotous, scram- 
bling manner of such bodies in general, and with the strictest 
observance of legislative usages. 

The business of the house was opened by a general drink, 
and a Committee on Federal Relations appointed, comprising 
Colonels Watkins, Carman, Zulick, Thompson, Ewing, Coggs- 
well, who retired, and were soon engaged discussing the merits 
of a strong bottle of brandy. Snatches of songs and laughter, 
which floated up from the committee room, proved that the 
honorable gentlemen were liberally and cheerfully engaged. 

Pending their return, General Kilpatrick regaled the conven- 
tion with a full and highly-embellished account of a very dash- 
ing raid he had made on a cellar. 

"Though," said the honorable gentleman, "I am a very 
modest man, that never blows his own horn, like other gentle- 
men whom I could name, I must honestly tell you that I am 
Old Harry on raids. My men, too, have strongly imbibed the 
spirit, and are always full of it. I must confess that my fel- 
lows are very inquisitive. Having come so far to visit the good 
people of Georgia, who are famed for their hospitality, they 
live in the free and easy style among them ; and if, perchance, 



THE MOCK GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 257 

they discover a deserted cellar, believing that it was kindly left 
for their use by the considerate owner, they take charge of it. 
It sometimes happens, too, that they look after the plate and 
other little matters. Coming to my own particular raid, it was 
one of the handsomest and most brilliant affairs of the war 
I " 

" Mr. Speaker, I must raise a point of order. I believe it is 
always the custom to treat the speaker." This interruption 
came from a lobby member, who appeared suffering from an 
ague fit. 

" Yes, I believe it's customary to treat the speaker ; " and he 
produced a huge brandy flask. " I beg to inform this honor- 
able body that I am going to treat the speaker ; " and he gravely 
put the bottle to his mouth, and seemed to enjoy most lovingly 
its contents. This interruption was received by cheers from 
some, and cries of Order, order ! from others. Before the hon- 
orable gentleman could resume his address, the committee 
returned, some humming, " We won't go home till morning," 
" Marching, marching along." A noisy debate ensued, every 
one edging in his own word, the chief tenor of which was a 
strong wish of cultivating a closer acquaintance with Joe BroAvn 
and Company, and regretting their unparliamentary absence 
from the meeting. 

After several calls to order, the chairman of the Committee 
on Federal Relations read the following set of resolutions : — 

1. That the ordinance of secession was highly indiscreet and 
injudicious, and ought to be discouraged. 

2. That aforesaid ordinance is a d — d farce,, and always was, 
and is hereby repealed and abrogated. 

3. That Sherman's columns will play the devil with the ordi- 
nance and the state itself 

4. As the Federal relations with the state are not very 
friendly, that a committee be appointed to kick Joe Brown and 
Jeff Davis, and also to whip back the state into the Union. 

A lobby member suggested that Sherman's committee of safety, 
comprising Uncle Sam's blue jackets, would do that, and pro- 
posed that the reconstruction of the state be left in their hands. 
22* 



258 Sherman's march through the south. 

The resolutions and amendments were submitted to the house, 
and wefe loudly ratified, oiem. con. 

The legislature rather hastily adjourned, after the style of 
Governor Brown, first regaling itself with Bourbon and brandy- 
smashers. 

Thus terminated the sittings of this important body of Yan*kee 
representatives, who had brought back the state into the Union 
vi et armis. 

Here, as elsewhere, we found the ladies to be uncompromising 
rebels. One lady, who kept a perfect harem of young lady 
boarders, paid a guard which had been assigned her, liberally in 
greenbacks, which she had got from officers who had dined there. 

" Why do you do that, madam? " asked an officer present. 

Assuming something of the Charlotte Corday expression of 
contempt and disdain, she haughtily replied, — 

" Sir, I don't keep the vile trash. I'm no traitor." 

On the 22d Kilpatrick struck the Macon and Western road, 
destroying the bridge at Walnut Creek. Next day Howard's 
column reached Gordon, and began the destruction of the Geor- 
gian Central Railroad. 

The only fighting we had since we left Atlanta was between 
Kilpatrick and Wheeler's cavalry. Kilpatrick made a demon- 
stration on Macon, and when near Gordon the enemy showed 
fight, and threw forward some infantry. Howard sent General 
Walcott's brigade of infantry to support Kilpatrick, and a very 
hot little engagement ensued at Griswoldville. Before I de- 
scribe this, I will give a resume of the cavalry operations since 
we left Atlanta. 

The first brigade of Kilpatrick's cavalry was commanded by 
Colonel E. H. Murray, of the 3d Kentucky, and the 2d brigade 
was under Colonel Atkinson, 92d Illinois mounted infantry. 

Kilpatrick covered our right flank, moving on the Jones- 
boro' road. At Lovejoy they were opposed by dismounted 
infantry and some militia, in Hood's old works. They had 
two guns in position. They were soon routed from this po- 
sition. Kilpatrick pursued them to Bear Creek Station, where 



BATTLE NEAR GORDON. 259 

they made another stand, being reenforced. A sharp engage- 
ment took place here, but the rebels were finally driven from 
their breastworks. On the 18tli Kilpatrick reached the river at 
Planters' Ferry. On the 20th he occupied Clinton, and moved 
by Cross Keys, with the intention of demonstrating on Macon. 

The enemy were pretty strongly intrenched on the heights 
around Macon. Kilpatrick skirmished with them. His in- 
structions were to threaten Macon, but not attack in case of 
resistance. 

Next day he tore up the railroad towards Gordonsville, and 
burned a number of factories and machine shops. 

On the 22d he arrived near Gordon, where the enemy made 
a decided stand. While the cavalry were engaged here, the 
rebels sent forward an infantry force, under General Phil- 
ips. Howard, being apprised of this movement, sent General 
Walcott's brigade, of the 15th corps, to support the cavalry. 

Walcott's infantry swept down on the rebel militia with sover- 
eign contempt. The latter did not immediately give way, but 
seemed to show fight, as much as to say, " "We'll show you 
that militia can fight." 

Walcott opened a heavy fire of musketry and artillery upon 
them, and replied with a good deal of steadiness. Walcott 
formed into column and charged right down on them, sweeping 
them before him. General Philips did all he could to rally his 
troops, and partly succeeded ; but they did not long stand our fire 
and charge, but fled panic-stricken, leaving Philips and a large 
number of prisoners in our hands. The fight was rather a 
tough one, and ended in the rout of the rebels, with a loss of 
about three hundred, while our loss could be no more than forty 
to fifty. General Walcott was wounded in the engagement. 

Thence Kilpatrick passed through Gordon, crossing the Oco- 
nee River, and joined Sherman at Milledgeville. 

Howard's column had encountered no opposition as yet, ex- 
cept General Walcott's engagement at Griswoldville. He had 
destroyed several miles of railroad, stores, mills, factories, 
and cotton. 

The quantity of cotton destroyed was immense. The women 



260 Sherman's march through the south. 

and children, and a few old men, and Jews, wlio managed the 
shenf.per sherd, part of the Confederacy, looked on with a morbid 
kind of apathy. 

We found that a large portion of the cotton was, or pre- 
tended to be, in the hands of the Jews. We seldom got up a 
cotton burning that Solomon the Jew, or Isaac the Jew, or 
some other Jew, did not claim it as his lawful property. They 
strongly pleaded their neutrality, and appeared horrified when 
they found that dodge no go. 

In one case in Carolina, a Jew, true to his money-making 
instincts, seeing a fine pile of cotton preparing for the torch, 
rushes up excitedly, and exclaims, — 

" General, you don't mean to say that you are going to burn 
dat 'ere pile of cotton?" 

" Certainly." 

'' Ah, mein Gott ! what a pity ! three hundred bales ! " 

" Four hundred, friend," said the general, amusing himself 
at the poor Jew's expense. 

" An' de cotton as high as fifty cents a pound." 

" Sixty-five cents in New York," replied the general, piling 
up the agony still higher. 

" O mein Gott ! mein Gott ! " exclaimed the Jew, wringing 
his hands and looking most affectionately at the tempting pile, 
which his avaricious mind had already converted into a regular 
mint of gold dollars. 

" Come, men, fire it ! " exclaimed the general ; and the men 
snatched up the brands from the fire, and were about thrusting 
them into the pile. This was too much for the Jew : was all 
his anticipated wealth thus to end in smoke ? and raising his 
hands he exclaimed, — 

" Don't fire dat ! don't fire dat ! " 

The men stood with the brands raised. The Jew ran over 
to the general, and taking him confidentially by the coat, whis- 
pered in his ear, — 

" What vill I give you for de whole lot?" 

The general thought he would keep on the joke. 

" Well, taking the risks and everything into account, I should 
think fifty thousand dollars enough for it." 



THE JEW AND THE COTTON. 261 

" Fifty tousand ! the risks are great, general ! " 

" True, then say forty." 

" O, dat too much, too." 

"What do you say to thirty thousand?" 

" De rebel cavalry might come and burn it." 

" Well, what do you say yourself." 

" General," he whispered into his ears, " I'll give you ten 
tousand gold dollars, and let de cotton be, and no one be de 
wiser." 

" It won't do ; fire the cotton, men." 

" No, no, general, I'll make it de twenty." 

The general shook his head ; the cotton was beginning to 
blaze up. 

" Stop dem, general ; I'll make it de thirty." 

The pile was in one blaze. 

" It is too late now," said the general, and the bewildered 
Jew looked on in horror. 

" Look here," said the general, tapping the Jew on the shoul- 
der, and giving him a look that made him quail, — 

" I want thirty thousand dollars from you." 

"Mein Gott ! for what?" exclaimed the affrighted Jew; 
" de cotton is all burned now." 

"•Exactly so ; you are a rebel agent ; otherwise you could 
not pay such a sum for this cotton." 

" O, no, mein Gott, I hate de rebels ; but I wanted to make 
one little money ; me no agent." 

" Well, well, you'd buy that cotton for the rebels, if we left 
it here ; of course it would get into their hands. Are you a 
Union man ? " 

" O mein Gott, yes ; I alvays for de Union." 

"You'd do as much for the Union as for the Confederacy?" 

" Mein Gott, much more." 

"Then you were ready to pay thirty thousand dollars for 
that cotton, which would fall into the rebel hands ; now, I de- 
mand the same amount for the Union cause." 

The poor Jew was in a trap ; he had baited a snare for him- 
self. It was amusing to see how he wriggled and shivered 



262 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

between the fear of being strung out of a tree and the dread of 
losing his thirty thousand dollars. 

The general kept him in a state of suspense for some time, 
during which he swore by Jacob, Abraham, Solomon, and all 
the prophets of the old law, that he was a strict Union man, 
and had not thirty thousand doUars in the world. 

" Why did you offer it then, or how did you mean to 
pay it?" 

" O, mein Gott, general, I knew ye wouldn't ax de money 
until I'd sell de cotton in New York." 

This subterfuge so pleased the general that he dismissed the 
Jew, who, I am sure, never tried to buy cotton from Yankee 
generals again. 

It is a notorious fact that Jews hung around the army like 
crows around carrion, and as soon as we got possession of a 
town, they at once got all the good stores and trade privileges. 

I have known instances where men, who had served in the 
army, wanted trade privileges, and could not get them, while 
Jews, who had never smelled gunpowder, could get what they 
pleased. I have seen, in a certain town in Tennessee, ex- 
officers, w^ho wanted permits, left to cool themselves in presence 
of the Great Mogul, — the treasury agent, — while some wealthy 
shoddy Jew was getting a lengthened audience, and enjoying a 
pleasant tete-d-tete. 

When the ex-officers and others were received by the little 
great man, it was in the tone of one "clothed in a little brief 
authority." 

"What do you want?" 

" Trade permits." 

" I can't attend to them. More applications than I can 
grant." 

Again, I have seen Jews walk unchallenged into the office 
of a certain general, military governor of a certain town in 
Georgia, while others had to go through a regular course of 
ceremonies and passes before they reached the august presence 
of his high mightiness. 

I admire the pluck and enterprise of the Jews, and wish them 



POLICY OF THE JEWS. 263 

every success ; but I don't see why they should be more favor- 
ably treated than Christians. 

Somehow I think they have discovered the golden sesame. 

A friend of mine once complained to a Jew that he could not 
get any favors from a certain party. " Though," said my friend, 
" I am asking nothing but what I am entitled to." 

" What would you give for the privilege you want? " 

" I'd give one or two hundred dollars to any one that would 
get it." 

" Indeed ! Well, I take one hundred and fifty dollars from 
you and get the permit; but mind you," said the Jew, who 
seemed to feel ashamed of what a Christian delighted in, 
" one cent of this does not go into my pocket ; still it is neces- 
sary to get you the permit." 

" I understand, and am grateful to you," replied the other. 

He soon got his permit. 

The Jew has shown his wisdom throughout this war. As a 
class they were the only people that kept clear of it. While 
Christians were slaying their brother Christians, and rose up in 
bloody enmity against one another, the Jews traded and bar- 
tered, bought and sold goods, houses, and property, gave and 
took in marriage, as if the world were at peace, accumulated 
wealth, and now enjoy in ease the fine homesteads, spacious 
stores, and rich plantations of the poor victims of pride and 
ambition. 

Verily, they are wise in their generation. 

It takes an old raider to appreciate how completely and 
quickly a railroad can be destroyed. At the first start of 
railroad raids, the rails were simply turned over, — tlie men 
ranging themselves at one side, and raising in one huge swath 
hundreds of yards at a time, and then tossing it over. This 
only caused some delay, but left the material for use again. 
We improved on the thing like all other sciences of war. 
The rails were torn from the sleepers by a kind of drag, with 
a lever attached for a handle. Then the sleepers were piled up, 
and set on fire. 

The rails were placed on top, and soon became so soft that 



264 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

they could be twisted like a corkscre-wr, or wound around a tree 
like an 'anaconda. Future antiquarians will rack their brains 
conjecturing how these iron monsters twisted themselves 
around the trees. I should not wonder if some Barnum 
of the twenty-fifth century should exhibit an immense rail 
as the " fungatcd boa-constrictor found buried in the heart 
of a huge oak tree, where it must have lain for hundreds 
of years," with, perhaps, another that has been modelled 
into a duck of a corkscrew, as "a corkscrew used by the 
aborigines of America in the days when there were giants upon 
the earth." 

These will be looked back upon as the good old times, though, 
truly, we have found more harm than good in them. 

Near some stations we found several locomotive houses inhab- 
ited by a very peculiar people. Some western squatters live on 
raftfj ; the Chinese have their floating populations, and the poor 
Irish their mud cabins ; but here we found new tenants who 
inhabit the box-cars that have been thrown off the track, or 
switched on sidelings. In some of these were families of blacks, 
whose masters had been burned out, and they were now shifting 
for themselves. All the able-bodied men had been carried off 
by massa, leaving the women and children to enjoy the com- 
bined luxury of freedom and starvation. 

Greasy negro wenches stuck out their heads through the 
windows to survey us, while young picaninuies rolled and 
tumbled about like porpoises on the land. 

Some had the octoroon lightness of color and clearness of 
features ; others approached the brown olive of the Indian ; while 
others displayed the thick lips, woolly heads, and dusky skins 
of the pure Ethiopian. 

Such a medley would send your miscegenation disciples into 
ecstasies ; but it would take a whole herald college to trace their 
relationship to one another. I learned that the octoroon boy, 
whom, if you met with, you would set down as the child of 
white parents, was the offspring of brother and sister. His 
mother was tlic child of a planter, and his slave ; while the 
boy was the child of the planter's son. 



THE BLACK COLONY. 265 

" Did you know," said I to the boy's mother, who was 
certainly good-looking, "that he was your brother?" 

" Specks I did." 

" And why did you live with him? " 

" Me gwine to oppose massa? Catch a slave do it." 

" And have you been kept a slave all the time." 

" Yes ; but old massa sold my sister, and young massa says 
he'll sell me if I don't be good." 

Two box-cars near the black colony were inhabited by white 
families. They did not appear to be a bit better off than the 
blacks. Their clothing was scant, and their sense of shame or 
moral rectitude, if they ever had any, was perfectly blunted. 

In one car I found two young and rather good-looking 
women. They had three children between them. 

" Where are your husbands?" I asked. 

*' We never had none," was the reply. 

" How do you manage to live? " 

"Well, I reckon as well as we can. Can't get no coffee nor 
snuff, now. Have you a chew of 'backer, stranger ? " 

These wretched families appeared content in their filth, and 
rags, and wretchedness. 

They found very little change in the times. True, they 
became a little hard since the war took place ; still, they were 
able to live, while, at the best of times, they had a struggle to 
do so. Their huts and persons were equally dirty and squalid ; 
though a stream of water ran near them, they appeared to have 
a hydrophobiac dread of it. 

It was the policy of the rebel government to abandon the 
cultivation of cotton for the raising of corn crops, and this was 
fully carried out by the planters. 

I had been informed that for the past two years there was not 
above one fifth the quantity of cottou planted that had been in for- 
mer years. This I am sure was the fact ; for besides the desire to 
raise food for the armies, the able-bodied negroes were employed 
on military works, and the whites conscripted into the army. 

As cotton requires watchful care, the planters had not hands 
to cultivate it. 

23 



266 Sherman's march through the south. 

In our marcli we daily traversed immense cornfields of hun- 
dreds of acres in extent. These were formerly devoted to cotton. 

The rich extent of country west of the Savannah River was 
the great granary of the rebel army of the west. Lee's army 
drew the bulk of its supplies from the states east of the Savan- 
nah, chiefly about Columbia. 

How we lived on the Country. 

Our campaign all through Central Georgia was one delightful 
picnic. We had little or no fighting, and good living. The 
farm-yards, cellars, and cribs of the planters kept ourselves and 
animals well stored with provisions and forage, besides an occa- 
sional stiff horn of something strong and good, which, according 
to the injunctions of holy writ, we took "for our stomachs* 
sake." 

Indeed, the men were becoming epicures. In passing through 
the camp one night, I saw a lot of jolly soldiers squatted outside 
the huts in true gypsy style, and between them a table richly 
stocked with meats and fowls of different kinds, flanked by 
several bottles of brandy. 

They were a jolly set of scamps — talked, laughed, jested, and 
cracked jokes and bottles in smashing style. 

Chase's financial speculations were nothing to theirs ; and as 
for their war schemes, Stanton's and Halleck's were thrown in 
the shade by them. On the subject of eating they were truly 
eloquent, and discussed the good things before them with the 
gusto of a Beau Brummel. 

They thought campaigning in Georgia about the pleasantest 
sort of life out, and they wondered what would become of the 
poor dog-gone folks they had left with their fingers in their 
mouths, and little else to put in them. 

Many of our foragers, scouts, and hangers-on of all classes, 
thought, like Cromwell, that they were doing the work of the 
Lord, in wantonly destroying as much property as possible. 
Though this was done extensively in Georgia, it was only in 
South Carolina that it was brought to perfection. 

When we reached MiUedgeville, we had about thirty days* 
extra marching rations. 



LIVING ON THE COUNTRY. 267 

It is impossible to enter into the details of the many ways an 
army can live on the country. Besides the regular detailed 
forage parties, there are the officers' servants and cooks, black 
and white, all wanting something nice for massa general or the 
captain's mess. Some of these black and Avhite rascals draw 
largely on the mess fund, with the honest intention of paying 
for what they get, but somehow forget doing so. I once had a 
negro servant, a very pious negro, by the Avay. He was a kind 
of preacher, collected his "bredern" at night, and with them 
shouted out psalms lustily enough to take heaven by storm. 
He was a pious negro, and pointed out the road Zion-ward to 
his " errin' bredern." 

" I'm gwine out, massa, wid de boys, and I want money." 
This was one morning when we were preparing to march. 

"For what, Moses?" 

" Well, you, massa, hain't a chicken nor butter for dinner.'* 

" Moses, why can't you forage, like the rest? I declare, our 
mess is costing us a pile, while others are living on the country." 

" Dat's true, massa," said Moses, with a look of offended 
virtue ; " but dis chil' never steal his neighbor's goods." 

I stood rebuked by this unsophisticated son of the wilderness, 
and, feeling ashamed of myself, handed him a five-dollar bill. 
In the course of the day, passing a poor shanty, I heard a great 
uproar in the yard, and the voice of a woman in angry remon- 
strance. I dismounted in time to see Moses and the cook 
charge out of the yard, both flanked with chickens and roosters 
tied to their saddles. 

" O, the murthering thieves," exclaimed the woman, "they 
hain't left me a morsel ; they have even taken my blanket, and 
a little crock of butter, a few pieces of bacon an officer left me, 
and myself and the children will starve ; and here is what they 
gave me ; " and she showed a twenty-dollar Confederate note. 

At night Moses had a very nice dinner for me, no doubt ; the 
chickens were elegantly done, the bacon was rich and juicy. I 
could have enjoyed the thing immensely at any other time ; but 
somehow the widow and orphans seemed to look on upbraid- 
ingly. 



268 Sherman's march through the south. 

Moses, however, took it very complacently, and even rebuked 
me because I sat down without saying grace. 

"Any change for me, Moses?" 

" Change, massa ? I declare, dese 'ere things dreadfully dear ! 
Cost a heap ! " 

" Indeed ! what did you pay ? " 

" You see, massa, she was a lone"Avoman ; so I gave her ten 
dollars." 

" So I owe you five ; " and I took out a Confederate bill for 
the amount. 

" This 'ere thing no good," said Moses, handing it back to 
me, in disdain. 

" You hypocrite ! " I exclaimed, " it is as good as the one 
you gave the widow ; and by Jove ! if you practise any more 
on me, I'll have you tied up and well flogged." 

Moses was quite crest-fallen, and never asked me for money 
again on the march. 

This is a mild case, and gives but a poor notion of the ex- 
ploits of the grand army of foragers and bummers. 

War is very pleasant when attended by little fighting, and 
good living at the expense of the enemy. 

To draw a line between stealing and taking or appropriating 
everything for the subsistence of an army would puzzle the 
nicest casuist. Such little freaks as taking the last chicken, the 
last pound of meal, the last bit of bacon, and the only remain- 
ing scraggy cow, from a poor woman and her flock of children, 
black or white not considered, came under the order of legiti- 
mate business. Even crockery, bed-covering, or cloths, were 
fair spoils. As for plate, or jewelry, or watches, these were 
things rebels had no use for. They might possibly convert 
them into gold, and thus enrich the Confederate treasury. 

Men with pockets plethoric with silver and gold coin ; soldiers 
sinking under the weight of plate and fine bedding materials ; 
lean mules and horses, with the richest trappings of Brussels 
carpets, and hangings of fine chenille ; negro wenches, particu- 
larly good-looking ones, decked in satin and silks, and sporting 
diamond ornaments ; ofiicers with sparkling rings, that would 



LIVING ON THE COUNTRY. 269 

set Tiffany in raptures, — gave color to the stories of hanging up 
or fleshing an *' old cuss," to make him shell out. 

A planter's house was overrun in a jiffy; boxes, drawers, 
and escritoirs were ransacked with a laudable zeal, and emptied 
of their contents. If the spoils were ample, the depredators 
were satisfied, and went off in peace ; if not, everything was 
torn and destroyed, and most likely the owner was tickled with 
sharp bayonets into a confession where he had his treasures 
hid. If he escaped, and was hiding in a thicket, this was prima 
facie evidence that he was a skulking rebel ; and most likely 
some ruffian, in his zeal to get rid of such vipers, gave him a 
dose of lead, which cured him of his Secesli tendencies. Sor- 
ghum barrels were knocked open, bee-hives rifled, while their 
angry swarms rushed frantically about. Indeed, I have seen a 
soldier knock a planter down because a bee stung him. Hogs 
are bayonetted, and then hung in quarters on the bayonets to 
bleed ; chickens, geese, and turkeys are knocked over and hung 
in garlands from the saddles and around the necks of swarthy 
negroes ; mules and horses are fished out of the swamps ; cows 
and calves, so wretchedly thin that they drop down and perish 
on the first day's march, arc driven along, or, if too weak to 
travel, arc shot, lest they should give aid to the enemy. 

Should the house be deserted, the furniture is smashed in 
pieces, music is pounded out of four hundred dollar pianos with 
the ends of muskets. Mirrors were wonderfully multiplied, 
and rich cushions and carpets carried off to adorn teams and 
war-steeds. After all was cleared out, most likely some set of 
stragglers wanted to enjoy a good fire, and set the house, debris 
of furniture, and all the surroundings, in a blaze. This is the 
way Sherman's army lived on the country. They were not or- 
dered to do so, but I am afraid they were not brought to task 
for it much either. 

23* 



270 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

HOWELL COBB'S FAST MARE.— JOE, THE FORAGER. — CONTRA- 
BANDS.— CAPTURE OF FORT MCALLISTER. 

Slocum's column left Milledgeville on the morning of the 
24th, and crossed the Oconee, diving into a dense pine forest. 

On the afternoon of the following day, Wheeler's cavalry 
disputed their passage across Buffalo Creek. Here was a wide 
swamp, crossed by nine bridges, which the rebels had burned, 
and consequently easy of defence. A regiment forded the creek, 
cleared the opposite side, and the engineers soon threw up 
bridges, and corduroyed the approaches. 

Carmon's brigade, of Jackson's division, skirmished up to 
Sandersville, and Colonel Hughes and his cavalry dashed into 
the town, but were forced back with the loss of one man. 

Southern papers magnified this into a great victory by Wheel- 
er's cavalry. 

The infantry soon came up, and made short work of the cav- 
alry. This neat little town was soon pillaged, and an inventory 
taken of the stock of every store in it. 

Here we learned that Wheeler's force was about fifteen hun- 
dred men and four guns, and that Hardee was marching to the 
assistance of Savannah. 

Howard had arrived at Swainsboro', on the Great Chopee 
River, moving towards the great railway centre at Millen. 
Kilpatrick was on his right, and the left wing was converging 
in the same direction. Howard had met little opposition, ex- 
cept at the Oconee Bridge, which was burned, and stoutly 
defended by Major Hartridge, of Wheeler's cavalry. 

In a swamp near Milledgeville we picked up a valuable 
pacing mare of General Howell Cobb's. She was a splendid 



HOWELL COBB'S PLANTATION. 271 

animal, but the poor fellow that captured her paid a dear price 
for her, for while testing her speed he ventured too far from the 
command, and was found with his throat cut. 

Cobb's plantation was well stocked with decrepit negroes, 
and his granaries well filled with corn. The gallant owner had 
removed all the able-bodied men, women, and animals from the 
place, leaving a miserable-looking set of negroes to receive us, 
whom he had soothingly informed that the Yanks would cut 
their throats for them, or yoke them into their wagons. These 
wretched creatures were cooped up in their leaky, half-sheltered 
cabins. 

The poor of the south, black and white, were kept in this 
state of terrorism by the planters. The most ignorant black 
had a kind of instinctive feeling that wc were their friends. 
Not so with the poor whites. We found male children hid in 
all sorts of out-of-the-way places ; for they heard that we would 
kill them, to prevent their growing up to fight against us. 

On the contrary, the negro knew that massa hated the Yan- 
kee ; and massa being, in too many cases, their tyrant, they 
felt that the Yankee must of necessity be their friend. 

" Massa can't come dat over dis 'ere nigger," said a gray- 
headed negro ; " massa nebber cared for us. Why does he 
want to tote us off now dat you'ns a coming? No, massa; 
we know dat you set us free ; de Lord tell us so." 

His strong, abiding faith was remarkable. The negro be- 
lieved in a millennium ; and now he thought his belief was about 
being realized. 

General Sherman ordered a generous supply of Howell Cobb's 
good things to be divided among the negroes. The bummers 
helped themselves to them next day. Why should they feed 
Howell Cobb's niggers, if the chivalric, liberty-loving major 
general deserted them ? 

These same bummers were wonderful at discovering hidden 
treasures, concealed goods, and the like ; in fact, they appeared 
more perfectly conversant with the occult sciences than all the 
clairvoyants of New York. I once saw a body of them riding 
over a wide, open field. On a sudden the leader halted his 



272 Sherman's march through the south. 

scraggy Rosinante with such a jerk as to throw him on his 
haunches, and to set the score, young and old, roosters and 
chickens, that wreathed liis saddle, into a perfect roar of ago- 
nized torture. 

" Stop," he exclaimed. 

They all stopped, and looked about them, somewhat scared ; 
a vision of Wheeler's cavalry and gaping throats, cut from ear 
to ear, crossing their minds. 

" What's the matter, Joe? " exclaimed one of the party. 
" I'm dog gone if I don't smell a hog." 

" Fudge, man ! let us ride on ; this doesn't look a very com- 
fortable place to be, and we so far out." 

" Narry ride, then," replied Joe, " until I make sure. A 
good fat hog would be such a pleasant change from chicken and 
turkey." 

They all urged Joe to come on, but without effect. Soon 
they heard a grunt quite near them. They all chimed in with 
Joe ; but where was the hog, though ? There was nothing but 
an open jfield around them. 

Joe remarked that there couldn't be a porcine grunt without 
a hog, and dismounted to make a closer inspection. By prob- 
ing with their ramrods, they discovered a hollow place, and 
were not long in digging it up, when, lo ! they discovered one 
of the fattest and tidiest hogs I have ever seen, buried in a nice 
cave, which was covered in with boards and earth. 

After this exploit Joe was voted the prince of bummers. 
On another occasion we had halted at a farm-house, when the 
lady of the house, with some dozen children clinging round her, 
came out wringing her hands, beseeching us to leave something 
for herself and her starving children. They looked miserable 
and squalid enough to be in want. We felt for her, and had 
placed a guard on the house, and given her a supply of provis- 
ions. When I said " we," I should leave out Joe, who was 
present, and received her appeals with the unfeeling excla- 
mations of " bosh ! " and " bumpkin ! " When the grateful 
woman went in, Joe remarked, — 

" I reckon a coon's hide that 'ere woman hain't so poor, 
neither." 



JOE, THE FORAGER. 273 

" Miserably so," we replied. 

" "Waal, we'll see ; " and Joe walked off, but soon returned 
with his whole gang laden with bacon and flour, which they had 
disinterred about the premises. 

Joe was a lean, lank-looking customer, a cross between some 
roving Tennesseean and a half savage Cherokee. Some of 
Wheeler's men spoiled the best forager in the army by cutting 
Joe's windpipe, having first treated him to a pill of lead. 

After Joe's demise I think the palm of merit should be given 
to Chowler, a huge dog, half Newfoundland and half blood- 
hound. Chowler — I am afraid I am nicknaming the noble 
brute ; it wouldn't be pleasant if he felt offended and met me 
alone any time, for he had an ugly way of throttling things, 
which soon brought on a stoppage of breath — Chowler 
belonged to Captain De Grass, and did the foraging for the 
whole battery. 

He had a delightful way of wringing the heads of poultry, 
and upsetting hogs, and sheep, and cows. It took but a few 
minutes for Chowler to pile the peaceful denizens of the farm- 
yard in gore around him ; and woe betide the intruder that dare 
attempt to take any of them. Chowler was more fortunate than 
Joe ; he has outlived the war, and ought to be brevetted for his 
services. Many a man that did less than Chowler has been. 

I think my readers have, by this time, a pretty good idea of 
how we " lived off the country," not consuming our rations, but 
accumulating our stock, which, at one time, amounted to about 
ten thousand head of cattle, which also lived on the country. 
So I will now resume my narrative of how and where we 
marched. 

We still moved in four columns, each corps in separate 
columns, but all within sufficient distance to support each other 
if required, with the cavalry, as usual, operating on our flanks. 

On the evening of the 28th the head of the left wing reached 
the Ogeechee River. The bridge was burned, and the river 
widened into one of those marshy bayous which became numer- 
ous as we approached the coast. We laid our pontoons, and 
built nearly a inile of railroad. 



274 Sherman's march through the south. 

Baird's and Morgan's divisions, of the 14th corps, moved on 
Louisville, by Fern's Bridge, on the Upper Ogeechee, which 
place they sacked. 

It is the county seat of Jefferson County, and was the first 
capital of the state. 

The 20th corps tore up the railroad between Davidsboro' 
and the Ogeechee River. 

Howard had arrived at Swansboro', on the Great Chopee, 
striking for Millen. 

Blair's corps had followed the railroad, destroying it in his 
inarch. The 15th corps, commanded by General Osterhaus, in 
the absence of General Logan, moved in two columns west and 
south of the Ogeechee. The whole army was now moving 
southward, swinging on Millen. 

The rebel leaders appeared to be confounded by Sherman's 
movements. Davis and Kilpatrick were all the time threaten- 
ing Augusta. Here they had concentrated their militia, and a 
couple of regiments of North Carolinians, and a portion of 
Hampton's legion ; in all about eight thousand. 

Hardee, now seeing that Savannah was our objective point, 
had fallen back to its defences. 

Our left wing had pressed on the cavalry in our front all the 
time. Davis's corps was thrown forward as a strong arm 
all through for this purpose. Kilpatrick, too, had cleared our 
flanks, now with HoAvard on the right, and next with Davis on 
the left. 

At Waynesboro', Kilpatrick had succeeded in destroying 
the bridge ; Slocum moved eastward through Birdsville. The 
15th corps, now moving in two columns on the right bank of 
the river, had taken up the flank movement, and were a day's 
march in advance. 

On the afternoon of the 2d of December, Howard struck 
Millen, having effectually destroyed the central road from 
Macon to that place. Millen is a place of little importance, 
and only remarkable for being the prison of the Federals 
removed from Anderson ville. The stockade, or prison pen, 
was located in a dense pine forest, some six miles from Millen. 



CONTRABANDS. 275 

It was a square of fifteen acres, enclosed by a high log fence. 
Inside this was the dead line, — a single rail fence, — and beyond 
the burrows and huts where thousands of brave fellows had to 
endure a sickening confinement more fearful than death itself. 

It was a perfect village of kennels, holes, and huts huddled 
together, whose desolate, forlorn look was enough to crush the 
feeling of hope out of a brave man's heart. 

In the centre was a rather tasty brick kitchen, a palace when 
contrasted with its miserable surroundings. 

At the south end stood a square earthwork, built to com- 
mand, with its two guns, the whole bastile. 

The hospital was a quarter of a mile from the pen. Here 
were accommodations for three hundred patients ; but this was 
not sufficient. The long row of graves outside the hospital, 
numbering six hundred and fifty, told the fearful mortality, 
though our men were confined there only about a month. 

In one of the huts was an unburied body. Poor fellow ! he 
little thought that his comrades would lay him in a decent 
grave. 

Contrabands. 

As these proved very dark and troublesome on our line 
of march, and as they are still continuing a dark and tough 
subject, I will treat about them more fully than I have done. 

Georgia and South Carolina were plentifully stocked w^th 
slaves. Most of the able-bodied men wxre from home, either 
with their masters, or doing the hard work for the army. As 
soon as the Federal army struck through Central Georgia, 
a regular stampede took place of bondmen and bondwomen, 
and bondchildren too. They were invariably dressed in their 
best, and had packed into bundles their most valuable dresses 
and a small stock of provisions, and then, feeling happy and 
jubilant, fell in with the sable column that flanked the roads 
and brought up the rear on all sides. Parents seemed to part 
from their families, children from their parents, w^ith the most 
apparent unconcern. I had just dropped into a clean negro 
shanty to rest and await the column. 



276 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

Its occupants were an old patriarch " who had no hair on the 
top of Jiis head, the place where the wool ought to grow," 
two young picaninnies, and a good-looking negress in a fair 
way of soon increasing the slave population. 

The old man was quite communicative, and enlightened me 
very much on the blessings of slavery. Soon a strapping 
negro rode up to the door, and, hitching his horse, ran in in 
the best possible spirits. 

" Whar you gwine, Jake?" said the young woman. 

" I'm gwine wid de rest, to be sure. De Lord has sent 'em 
to burst our bondage." 

" Am I gwine wid you? " asked the wife. 

" No, no, Sal ; a lady in you'ns state ain't fit to travel. Jist 
do pack up, and I'll gwine along." 

" What will become of your father and family?" I asked. 

He scratched his head, and replied, — 

" Well, I guess de Lord will take care of dem." 

So he packed up a few things, and with scarcely a parting 
good by, jumped on the miserable animal which he had helped 
liimself to from massa, and joined the moving throng. 

Was all this indifference or resignation ? 

This question of slavery is but poorly understood in the 
north, and the men who preach most about it for political 
purposes, know the least of it, its rights and duties. 

The slave is now free to all intents and purposes. To leave 
himself and his old master to settle the issue between them is 
the wisest policy. Self-interest will compel them into an under- 
standing. 

For the most part generals and officers encouraged the slaves 
to join the army, simply because they knew it would sound so 
well at home, that General This or Colonel That liberated so 
many slaves, and fed them on the march. They fed them while 
they could live on the enemy's country ; but what became of 
them afterwards ? What has become of the fifteen thousand that 
followed our army through Central Georgia ? What has become 
of the twenty thousand that joined us in Carolina? The waters 
of the Ogeechee and Ebenezer Creek can account for hundreds 



CONTRABANDS. 277 

who were blocking up our columns, and then abandoned, the 
pontoons taken up, after being encouraged " to gwine along." 
The poor affrighted darkies crowded around the Jordan of their 
simple faith ; but it proved to them a Red Sea, for Wheeler's 
cavalry charged on them, driving them, pellmell, into the wa- 
ters, and mothers and children, old and young, perished alike ! 

Many of them died in the bayous and lagoons of Georgia, 
and the bones of many of them mark our track through South 
Carolina. When food was getting scarce, we turned them 
adrift, to support themselves or perish ; and philanthropists 
may congi-atulate themselves that over thirty thousand brothers 
have shaken off the shackles forever. 

As we passed through Georgia, colonies, squads, whole fam- 
ilies, from the feeble old folks, supported on their canes, and 
tottering under heavy bundles, down to the muling infant in the 
mother's arms, while her back was burdened with a heavy 
bundle, fell in. The young and the old left home, at a mo- 
ment's notice, to go, they knew not where, nor asked where, in 
search of freedom. 

Black children of all ages and sizes, I might add, of all 
shades, toddled along in rags and filth, urged on by the applica- 
tion of the maternal rod. Babies squealed in their mothers' 
laps. Old buggies and wagons, that they took from massa, 
blocked up the way, and literally lined it with their debris. 
Galled and jaded mules and horses carried hampers and bags, 
stuffed with children and wearables, balanced on each side. It 
was no unusual sight to see a black head, with large, staring 
eyes, peeping out of a sack at one side, and a ham of bacon or 
a turkey balancing it at the other. 

Even here beauty conquered, for the good-looking led luxuri- 
ous lives, stowed away in baggage-wagons during the day, and 
feasted at the servants' mess at night. 

It would be vexatious to the Grand Turk or Brigham Young, 
if they could only see how many of these dark houries were in 
the employment of officers' servants and teamsters. I have seen 
officers themselves very attentive to the wants of pretty octo- 
roon girls, and provide them with horses to ride. 
24 



278 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

At night, when the poor " snow-balls," and " beauties," as 
they were ironically called, halted, the men lighted large camp- 
fires of rails and fallen trees, and around these they collected in 
circles, and partook of their frugal meal, if they had any ; then 
they all joined in a kind of hymn, " bressin' de Lord." Their 
finely modulated voices, chiming in one solemn chorus, rang 
through the still camp. 

What nobler subject for a painting than these bright fires, 
sparkling and glowing amidst the pine trees, the sombre gran- 
deur of the forest, the white tents of the officers, the solemn 
tread of the sentry, and then those dark groups bursting forth 
in one impassioned song of thanksgiving to " de good Lord." 

The country from Millen to Savannah is one vast forest of 
pines, cut up by creeks and bayous, and streams flowing to the 
Ogeechee and Savannah Rivers. Swamps are plentiful all the 
way, making the roads almost impassable, and compelling us to 
corduroy miles of them. At Horse Creek, in Scriven County, 
the 20th corps and train had to wade through gome thirty yards 
of water four feet in depth. 

This was on General Slocum's line of march to Springfield, 
where the enemy were said to be in force, with the intention of 
disputing our advance on Savannah. 

Howard had met no serious resistance in his line of march, 
and still kept the west side of the Ogeechee River. 

On December 9, the left wing had pushed ahead to a point 
near Eden, on the Central Georgia line, and formed on the 
left of the 17th corps. The 14th corps, with its left resting 
on the Savannah River, was moving steadily down, despite the 
feeble attempts of a gunboat to prevent it. 

We were now about twenty miles from the city, with a com- 
plete line stretching across the Peninsula, from river to river. 

Fearing that we should detach a force to destroy the Gulf 
Railroad, the rebels pushed a force across the Ogeechee, cover- 
ing it by a strong line along the river. 

General Corse threw his division between the Little and 
Great Ogeechee, twelve miles in advance of the main column, 
to the canal which runs from the Ogeechee to the Savannah 



FORT GREENE. 279 

River. He bridged the canal, crossed his division, and in- 
trenched himself, thus edging in on the rebel works, and com- 
pelling them to fall back to the fortifications around Savannah. 

The rebels had thrown up Avorks at the head of an impene- 
trable swamp, near Monteith Station, on the Charleston Rail- 
road. Here they opposed the advance of the 20th corps. 
Jackson's division had the advance ; Colonel Robinson's brigade 
was sent to the left, and Carman's to the right, while Sel- 
fridge's advanced directly down the road. 

The flanking brigades waded through the swamp for over a 
mile, until they reached solid ground. They at once formed 
and dashed on the enemy, who soon made long tracks for Sa- 
vannah with his guns. It was defended by the 40th North 
Carolina, under a Major Stevenson. Morgan's division, of the 
14th corps, had also driven back the enemy from an intrenched 
position, and whipped Ferguson's cavalry, which had got in on 
his rear and flanks. The 17th corps, on the right centre, had 
also a brush with the enemy, in which, of course, it was suc- 
cessful. At 12 o'clock at night we crossed Ebenezer Creek, 
and encamped on Fort Greene. 

Fort Greene, 

This fort has been named in honor of the distinguished revo- 
lutionary general of that name, and is said to be the spot where 
that hero defended Savannah River against the British. A 
Lutheran church, erected in 1769, stands near the river. It is 
an old, red brick structure, surmounted by a modest cupola, 
which looks as if undecided whether it will stand or fall. The 
interior of the church is even more unassuming than the out- 
side. The pulpit is a plain, rude affair, and gives one the 
impression of an old desk. The floor and pews were clean, and 
the seats painted and moulded. 

It is a venerable structure ; and though looking as if it had 
taken a bad cold, or was afflicted with the rheumatism, it is 
likely to last near another century. 

The citizens say it was used by General Greene as a hospital. 



280 Sherman's march through the south. 

As the most of the fighting fell to General Kilpatrick and his, 
cavalry^ we will follow up the resume of his operations since 
his fight at Griswoldville. 

From Milledgeville, Kilpatrick started ,on the 24th Novem- 
ber for Millen, with the intention of liberating our prisoners. 

He crossed the Oconee, and rations for a long march had 
been issued, and transportation cut down to jockey weight. 

Next morning the command broke camp and marched to 
Long Bridge, on Town Creek. As the bridge had been de- 
stroyed, and the creek was deep, they had some difficulty 
in fording. They passed the Ogeechee Shoals into Warren 
County. 

On the 26th, Captain Estes, A. A. G., and Captain Hays, 
proceeded with two hundred men towards Waynesboro', in or- 
der to destroy the bridge on the Waynesboro' and Augusta 
Railroad, over Brier Creek. This bridge was sixty miles away, 
and their orders were to reach it that night. They did so ; had 
a sharp skirmish, destroyed the bridge, and a rebel train, and 
returned. 

The main column of cavalry had marched rapidly through 
Sylvan Grove to Louisville, in order to draw attention from 
the two hundred. 

On the 27th, Colonel Murray's brigade was vigorously at- 
tacked by Wheeler, who repeatedly charged his position with 
no efifect. 

The artillery was brought to bear on Wheeler, compelling 
him to retire. In the course of the day Kilpatrick pushed on 
rapidly, and was again opposed at Turkey Creek. The enemy 
closing in on Colonel Atkins's command, Kilpatrick fell back to 
Big Creek, near Louisville, skirmishing with the enemy all the 
way. 

On the 1st December, he moved for Waynesboro', and was 
supported by Baird's division, of the 14th corps. 

The country around Waynesboro' was partly open, and favor- 
able for cavalry operations. 

The rebel pickets were charged five miles outside Waynes- 
boro', and driven in on the main works, which Kilpatrick 



GENERAL KILPATRICK. 281 

charged. The 10th Ohio dashed on the rebel works, and were 
hurled back ; they re-formed, and again re-charged, dashing 
over the rebel works, mowing down the enemy with the sabre. 
In this charge they captured about one hundred prisoners, in- 
cluding several officers. 

The enemy's next line was carried in like manner ; but their 
third, which was at the west end of the town, and protected by 
a swamp and woods, offered more resistance. 

After a sharp fight, Kilpatrick whipped "Wheeler out of the 
town. 

Here Kilpatrick and Wheeler entered into a little conversa- 
tion. As I have said, the enemy's position was a strong one, 
and le petit general, with a flag in his hand, called over to 
Wheeler's men, " Come out, now, you set of cowardly skunks ; 
you claim that you whip Kilpatrick every time ! Come out, 
now, and try it j and I'll not leave enough of you to thrash a 
corporal's guard. I am Kil himself ! " 

Wheeler did not come out, but Kilpatrick went in and 
thrashed him out. 

The engagement here was pretty severe, and the losses rather 
heavy. 

Wheeler was now driven to the rear of Hood's infantry line. 
Kilpatrick was between him and our trains, covering the rear, 
as we closed in on Savannah. 

Kilpatrick next struck for Sister's Ferry, on the Savannah 
River ; but finding a strong infantry force here, he wheeled for 
Savannah, moving on the flank of the right wing. He had to 
cross cypress swamps, where bridges were burned, and every- 
thing done to impede his march. 

One brigade crossed the Ogeechee at King's Bridge, the other 
fell back to the rear to guard the new position taken by the army. 

Brevet Major General Judkin Kilpatrick rendered very im- 
portant services to Sherman in his campaigns through the south. 
He is remarkable for his unwearied activity, and continually 
harassed the enemy, now at one point, next at one remote from 
that. He has few equals as a raider, for he appears to be 
ubiquitous, and strikes the enemy when least expected. 
24* 

*-< 



282 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

As a^eneral, he is more brilliant than solid ; perhaps some- 
what deficient in the judgment of a cool planner, but eminently 
qualified for movements that require despatch and rapid execu- 
tion. In appearance he is of middle height, rather slightly 
built, but wiry and muscular. He has a gay, pleasant appear- 
ance. He talks and acts with nervous rapidity, and swears at 
the rebels just as vigorously as he fights them. 

The left wing invested Savannah on the 11th, taking up posi- 
tion on the right and front of the city ; the left of the 20th corps 
extending as far as the river, and the right of the 20th corps 
resting on the Ogeechee. Howard had swung into line, with 
the 17th corps on the right centre and the 15th in reserve, in 
order to open communications with the fleet. The enemy had 
opened the dikes of the canals and flooded the country, making 
it very unpleasant for the troops. We compelled some prison- 
ers we held to rebuild the gaps, and the water soon fell. 

Some of our foragers lay in ambush for a steamer on the 
river, and picked off* her pilot and several hands. She sur- 
rendered, and was burned. She proved to be the Water Witch, 
captured from our fleet. 

Slocum had struck the Savannah and Charleston Railroad, 
where it crosses to the west side of the Savannah Eiver, thus 
severing the communications between Charleston and Savannah. 
The 11th and 12th were spent in putting troops and artillery 
into position, erecting breastworks, and making the necessary 
preparations for the thorough investment of the city. Baird's 
division protected Slocum's rear from Wheeler's attacks, and 
also established batteries on the river to check the gunboats. 
The line now was about ten miles long, extending from the 
Savannah, where Slocum's left rested, just three miles from the 
city, to the Gulf Railway, ten miles from the city, where How- 
ard's right rested. 

Kilpatrick moved rapidly through Sudbury to Kilkenny, and 
found the United States ship Fernandina, Captain West, in sight 
down the bay. Captain Estes, assistant adjutant general, and 
one of Kilpatrick's most brilliant ofiicers, attended by Captain 
Messenger and one or two other officers, went out in a small 



283 

boat and boarded the ship ; so General Kilpatrick was able to 
inform General Sherman that the fleet had been found, and was 
ready to lend any cooperation to his movements. Understand- 
ing that Fort McAllister was to be taken by assault, Kilpatrick 
asked from General Sherman the privilege of assaulting it with 
his cavalry. 

Owing to the swampy nature of the ground, and the light 
artillery of the cavalry, Sherman did not think it practicable 
for artillery. General Hazen's division, of the 15th corps, was 
selected for this important attack. 

Hazen captures Fort McAllister, 

To Brigadier (now Major General) Hazen, commanding the 
2d division, 15th corps, was assigned the honorable position of 
conducting the assault on the fort. Sherman well knew that he 
could not intrust it to a better or more experienced officer. 

General Hazen rose rapidly in his profession. He was a 
West Point graduate in 1854, and served with distinction in the 
Indian wars on the frontiers and in Mexico, where he got badly 
wounded. He returned home, and led a domestic life until the 
breaking out of the war, when he again took up arms, and 
raised a regiment. He distinguished himself at Shiloh, and 
subsequently through the western campaign. He conducted 
some of the most daring assaults on the Atlanta campaign. On 
Major General 0.0. Howard assuming command of the army 
of the Tennessee, he got General Hazen transferred from a 
brigade in the 4th corps to a division in the 15th corps. Hazen 
is an educated general, cautious and reticent in organizing his 
plans, and energetic in executing them. He is a strict disci- 
plinarian, a good engineer, a thorough soldier, and refined 
gentleman. He possesses a dignified appearance, and frank, 
cheerful manners. 

With such a prestige, and being only in the prime of man- 
hood, — about thirty-four years of age, — it is no wonder that he 
is as much admired by the ladies as he is esteemed by his brother 
officers. 

Fort McAllister commanded the river. It was a strong, case- 



284 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

mated fort, and mounted twenty-one heavy guns. In front of 
it was an open space of six hundred yards, through which an 
assauUing party should advance without any cover. This, too, 
was thickly studded with torpedoes and sharp stakes. 

The 15th was General Sherman's old corps, and the 2d di- 
vision his old division. Sherman sent them word that they 
should take the fort by assault ; and his old soldiers appeared 
as well pleased at this mark of confidence, as if he had sent 
them a wagon load of brandy. 

On the evening of the 12th Howard relieved Hazen by a part 
of the 17th corps. Hazen moved across the Little Ogeechee. 
The enemy had destroyed King's Bridge across the Great Ogee- 
chee, and this had to be repaired. Captain Reese, topographical 
engineer of Howard's staff, with the Missouri engineers, bridged 
this one thousand feet during the night. Hazen crossed over 
next morning, and moved towards the point w^here the fort com- 
manded the river. Hazen had to march thirteen miles before 
he got into position. It was now evening, and Hazen had 
formed into line, investing the fort closing his flanks, which 
he swung around it, and evenly converged to the fort as a gen- 
eral centre. 

Hazen brought no artillery, as the ground w^as too swampy to 
move it, and he had decided on taking the fort by a bold dash 
and at the point of the bayonet. 

As soon as the line commenced moving over the open space, 
the fort opened all its guns upon them. Hazen, moving in a 
single line, did not suffer much. 

Their loss was mostly from torpedoes, which now and then 
blew up, hurling piles of dirt on the column, and knocking some 
poor fellows over. The column was all this time rapidly closing 
up ; not a man wavered ; each resolved that the fort should be 
taken. As soon as they got near enough, they poured a steady 
fire in through the embrasures, knocking off a good many of 
the gunners. "We afterwards' found their bodies lying beside 
their pieces. The first obstruction they met was a thick abatis, 
which they tore up and crawled through. The column had now 
closed in around the fort ; the guns were silenced, as nothing 



m'allister taken. 285 

could live near them, so deadly was our fire. Only a deep 
ditch, studded with spikes, now separated us from the enemy. 
Into this the men jumped, tearing away the palisade, climbed 
up the crest, and mingled in a fierce hand-to-hand conflict with 
the garrison. Shouts, groans, and curses, the whir of the 
bullet, and the clash of steel rang from the enclosure. 

The contest was of short duration, for soon our troops burst 
in on all sides, overpoweritig the enemy, who fought desperately 
— some of them being bayonetted at their pieces. The officers 
did all in their power to rally them ; several of them refusing 
to surrender, preferring death to dishonor. 

The contest w-as over ; the palmetto had trailed in the dust, 
and the stripes and stars had floated in its place. The fort Avas 
ours, — thus opening the navigation of the river, — with its splen- 
did guns, and large supply of arms, and a full cellar of rich old 
wines. This was one of the noblest exploits of the campaign, 
and proves how much quick, determined action can accomplish. 
Had Hazen sat down before this, to take it by regular siege, it 
would keep us days at work and cost us more lives. As it 
was, our loss in killed and wounded scarcely amounted to one 
hundred. 

During the assault. Generals Sherman and Howard and stajQfs 
occupied a Dr. Cheroe's rice mill, opposite the fort on the Ogee- 
chee. Sherman was on the roof of the mill. He had signal 
officers Berkely and Cole there, to communicate with Hazen. 
While anxiously looking out for Hazen's signals, Sherman's 
eagle eye descried smoke in the distance seaward. As yet he 
had received no intelligence from the fleet, though Captain 
Duncan, chief of Howard's scouts had started on the hazardous 
enterprise of opening communications with them as early as 
the 9th. 

Sherman looked ; his bronzed features lighted up as he ex- 
claimed, — 

" Look, Howard ; there is the gunboat ! " 

Soon after the guns of the fort opened one fierce fire, while 
puffs of smoke curled along Hazen's line, showing that they 
were replying. Hazen signalled, — 



286 

*' I have invested the fort, and will assault immediately." 

Berkely announces a signal from the gunboat. All anxiously 
look out for it. The signals inform us that Foster and Dahlgren 
are within speaking distance, and ask, — 

" Can we run up ? Is Fort McAllister ours ? " 

" No ; Hazen is just ready to storm it. Can you assist? " 

" Yes ; what will we do ? " 

Another moment the thunders from the fort grow fiercer, the 
metallic rattle of small arms increase, and are borne clearly 
across the three miles of intervening marsh. Sherman looks 
towards the fort intently with his glass, and exclaims, — 

" How grandly they advance ! not a waver ! " 

He strains his eyes, and again exclaims, — 

" Look, Howard, look ! magnificent ! See that flag, how 
steadily it advances ! not a man falters — grand ! grand ! " 

Again he looks, and turns to Howard, — 

" They are closing in ; there is no faltering there ; no flinch- 
ing. Stop ; it has halted — they are wavering. No, heavens ! 
it's on the parapet ! There they go right over it ! See ! see ! 
there is a flag, and another, and another on the works ! Hurrah, 
it's ours. The fort's taken ! " 

Glasses were lowered, the firing had ceased, the stripes and 
stars were floating from the fort, the key to Savannah, — the 
key that opened the river to the fleet, — and a new base was 
in Sherman's possession. 

Sherman looked about him, his features lighted up with joy, 
and turning to Howard, he exclaimed, — 

"Howard, Savannah is mine ! As the old darky remarked, 
' Dis chile don't sleep dis night.' " 

Turning to one of his aids, he remarked, — 

" Have a boat ready for me ; I must go over there," pointing 
to the fort, which was now crowned with half a dozen battle 
flags, looking glorious with the golden light of the setting sun 
sparkling with a strange halo around them. It was the consum- 
mation of his great and noble project. 

It was the fulfilment of his covenant with his troops, when 
he told them that he would lead theni'to a new base ; and with 



OBSTINACY OF THE REBELS. 287 

the nation to which he had sent his last message, not to be un- 
easy about him ; he would take care of himself. 

Fort McAllister was under the command of Major Anderson, 
Captain Clinch, chief of artillery, and Captain White, engineer, 
and about two hundred men, regulars and militia. 

As I have said, the officers fought desperately, refusing to 
surrender. Though all the guns were in our possession. Cap- 
tain Clinch refused to surrender, until he was disabled by three 
sabre and two gun-shot wounds, and faint from loss of blood. 

These men fought with recklessness, for with their guns and 
the outlets of the fort in our hands, any further resistance was 
madness. The regiments engaged in this brilliant assault were 
6th Missouri, Lieutenant Colonel Von Dusen ; 30th Ohio ; 
116th Illinois, Lieutenant Colonel Maddix. These formed the 
right of the line, and were commanded by the gallant Colonel 
Theodore Jones. The 47th Ohio, Colonel Perry ; 111th Illinois, 
Colonel Martin, and 54th Ohio, of the 2d brigade, and com- 
manded by Colonel W". S. Jones, formed the left. The 48th 
Illinois, Major Adams ; 90th Illinois, Colonel Stewart, and 20th 
Ohio, Lieutenant Colonel Philips, from the 3d brigade, com- 
manded by Colonel Oliver, occupied the centre. 

Our loss in officers was three killed and eight wounded, among 
the latter Colonel W. S. Jones, commanding the 2d brigade. 

When the history of the daring exploits of this war is writ- 
ten, brightest on the pages will appear that daring charge on 
Fort McAllister. The fame of Hazen and his gallant troops 
will stand prominent among those heroes whose names posterity 
shall record with admiration. The old 2d division served with 
distinction on many a bloody field, under the fiery John Logan ; 
but it remained for it to gain its crowning laurels under Hazen 
at Fort McAllister. 

Next day several vessels from the fleet came up to the fort, 
and landed officers from the navy and Foster's command, who 
were warmly received by Sherman's officers. Sherman had 
remained in consultation with Dahlgren and Foster until the 
17th, when he and Admiral Dahlgren came up in the flagship 
Massachusetts. 



288 Sherman's march through the south. 

We had opened a base on the Great Ogeechee, opposite Fort 
McAllister, and distant from either wing from five to fifteen 
miles. Several transports and vessels, and seven tons of mail 
matter, arrived at our new base. 

The results of our campaign were more glorious than the 
most sanguine could anticipate. We had passed through in our 
march over forty of the wealthiest counties of Central Georgia ; 
occupied over two hundred depots, county seats, and villages ; 
captured about fifteen thousand negi'oes, — doubtful prizes, — 
about ten thousand head of cattle, horses, and mules ; destroyed 
nearly two hundred miles of railroad, burned all the gins, cotton 
mills, and government property throughout the country ; also 
about fifty millions worth of cotton and Confederate bonds and 
currency, besides supporting our army and cattle on the country. 



SAVANNAH INVESTED. 289 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH.— SURRENDER TO GENERAL GEARY.— 
HIS JUST AND CONCILIATORY GOVERNMENT. — DESCRIPTION OF 
THE CITY. 

The capture of Fort McAllister opened up communications 
with the fleet of supply ships waiting in Ossabaw Sound. Ow- 
ing to the difficult channel of the Ogeechee, no stores were 
landed at King's Bridge before the 19th. From King's Bridge 
roads had to be corduroyed over the swamps and plantations 
to the different encampments. 

Our lines were now pretty well closed up around Savannah. 
The 20th corps held the extreme left, with one brigade of 
Geary's on Hutchinson Island. Next came the 14th corps, 
then a gap of some miles of impassable land, covered only with 
pickets. Before the 15th and 17th corps intervened the flooded 
and almost impassable rice fields. A mile of these artificial 
lakes lay between us and the rebel lines. Hazen's division had 
crept up pretty well to the rebel works, even at this point. 

The only approaches to the rebel lines confronting us are by 
the river road, the Charleston Railroad, and the Central Rail- 
road, and wagon road which ran beside it. 

All these Avere well guarded by intrenchments and redoubts, 
mounting several guns, which they kept continually firing along 
the different approaches. They even ran some guns up to our 
lines, on platform cars, puffed a feAv volleys, and then fell back. 

There were some four or five mills on Hutchinson's Island, 
which were busily employed for the benefit of le grande armee, 
and particularly for the support of the negroes, who were quar- 
tered here, living on rice. 

This is a low, swampy, miserable rice island, four miles long 
25 



290 Sherman's maech through the south. 

and onq, broad, in the Savannah Eivcr. The shore around is 
low and marshy, liberally colonized by alligators. 

Captain Yiele, of General Geary's staff, went out on a re- 
. connoissance to this island, in order to view the rear of the 
enemy's works. He struck upon a colony of escaped negroes, 
who hailed him as the savages did Captain Cook. In fact, 
Paul Rooney among the Cossacks never created such a sensa- 
tion. They showered blessings, sweet potatoes, and rice indis- 
criminately upon him. They sang hymns, danced, and capered, 
and could scarcely believe their senses when told that they were 
free^ I am afraid that the idea of freedom was a very vague one 
with most of them ; their perception of it was something about 
changing places with their masters. 

General Sherman had intimated to military commanders that 
the first one that would enter Savannah should be military gov- 
ernor. This helped to wake up the troops wonderfully. Men 
would build little platforms and bridges on logs, advancing 
them every night, or crawl along trees, until they approached 
within pistol range of the enemy, and pick them off from 
their guns. 

On the 16th December, General Sherman addressed a note 
to Lieutenant General W. J. Hardee, demanding a surrender 
of Savannah and all it contained. Sherman Avas facetious, and 
concluded his demand with Hood's message for the surrender 
of Dalton, namely, " No prisoners being taken in case of a 
refusal." He informed Hardee that he had. the city closely in- 
vested, and that there was no chance of its holding out. 

Hardee replied next day to the effect that he had plenty of 
supplies and men, and could hold out as long as he chose. 

The gunboats brought up plenty of ammunition to Sherman, 
a supply he rather needed ; so he commenced preparations to 
bombard the town. 

Six thirty-pound Parrotts landed from the Delaware and Sylph 
were placed in front of Corse's division, 15th corps, and in 
front of the 14th corps. They had plenty of pills with them, 
which they prepared to administer to the inhabitants ; but Har- 
dee changed his mind, and did not wait for the dose. 



EVACUATION OF SAVANNAH. 291 

Preparations had been made for assaulting the enemy's works 
on all sides. Dikes had been bridged in front, and everything 
got ready for a general assault. 

Hardee, being fully apprized of the contemplated movement, 
took nieasures to evacuate the city. 

On Monday afternoon he opened a fierce bombardment on our 
lines ; all his guns were at work, and shot and shell fell fast 
and furious within our lines, but did little harm. 

Few understood the object of these spiteful demonstrations, 
but the events of the following day made it clear. Id the first 
place, they wanted to deceive us by a thundering shoM ; in the 
second place, they wanted to expend a large portion of the am- 
rfiunition they could not carry off. 

Hardee evacuated on the night of the 20th Decembci-. After 
dark he threw his men, on rafts and steamboats, across the 
river to the South Carolina shore, and escaped up the Union 
Causeway, having first sent off all the able-bodied negroes, who 
had been collected in the city, under guard into South Carolina. 

The night was dark, with a fierce gust of wind from the west, 
deadening the sounds of the wagons and tramp of the troops. 

General Geary, commanding the 2d division, 20th corps, 
ever on the alert, holding the extreme left of the line, resting 
on the Savannah River, heard the movement crossing the 
bridge, and ordered his division under arms. At midnight 
General Geary, feeling convinced that they were evacuating the 
town, apprised General Sherman. 

Geary advanced his pickets, who, meeting no opposition, 
pushed still farther, crawled through the abatis, floundered 
through dikes and ditches, scaled the first line of works, and 
found it deserted. General Geary pushed on his division, and 
was near the city, when Mayor Arnold, with five or six others, 
rode up, and formally and unconditionally surrendered the city, 
expressing a trust for the safety of the lives and property of the 
inhabitants. 

General Geary received them kindly, giving them every 
assurance of protection in his power, and then entered the city 
first, despatching Captain Viele, of his staff, with four hundred 



292 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

men, to take possession of Fort Jackson, and another officer to 
General Slocum to inform him of the surrender. The ofiicers 
and men could scarcely credit that General Geary was in Sa- 
vannah. It was too startling news, too glorious news to be 
true. 

At 8 o'clock in the morning all the enemy's works were in 
our hands. Captain Vielc held Fort Jackson and Fort Barlow, 
finding about sixty heavy guns in them. 

When our colors floated from the parapet of Fort Jackson, 
the ram Savannah, Commander T. W. Brent, which lay on the 
river, opened on the fort. The guns in the fort were all spiked ; 
so General Geary had to wait for some pieces to come up to 
bring her to her senses. 

General Geary's advance was quite on the heels of Hardee's 
rear guard. Hardee lost some guns and men in his hasty 
crossing. 

Our losses during the siege were very small. About six 
hundred would cover all during the eleven days the town was 
invested, and about double that number since we started from 
Atlanta, — now one month and six days. 

In Savannah we captured one hundred and forty-five pieces 
of ordnance, of different kinds and caliber, an immense quan- 
tity of ammunition, over thirty thousand bales of cotton, besides 
a large supply of rice, grain, stores, and supplies of different 
kinds. 

Hardee had burned the government ship-yard, where a rebel 
ram was being built ; this and other gunboats were destroyed. 
The iron-clad Georgia was sunk by its commander, and the 
Savannah, after kicking up a rumpus all day, and sailing up 
and down in mock defiance of our light guns, was blown up by 
her commander, who sent his crew on shore and fired the 
magazine. 

First came a flash of light ; then, as if from the crater of a 
volcano, an immense volume of flame shot up, illumining the 
heavens for miles ; then came the fearful report, and the rebel 
ram Savannah was no more. The concussion was fearful, rock- 
ing the city and the vessels at anchor. 



STORES PILLAGED. 293 

The Watcrwitcli, wliicli was at Thunderbolt, was also de- 
stroyed on the night of the evacuation. She Avas under Acting 
Master Vaughan. 

The Isonidago, Lieutenant 11. D. Dalton, also the INIacon 
and Resolute, gunboats, went up the river. 

We captured the Samson, Lieutenant Marmaduke, and the 
Firefly, M. M. Skinner. 

The navy, which the rebels had constructed at so much ex- 
pense, added nothing to the defence of the town. It never 
amounted to anything, because the mouth of the Savannah was 
closed against their iron-clads. It was finally destroyed at 
their own hands. 

When we entered the city we found few of tlic citizens in the 
streets. The poor classes were grouped around, apparently 
well pleased vnih the change, for they had nothing to lose, and 
had sulTered much during the war. 

In the first rush, sevei'al stores were broken open, and the 
straggling poor eagerly joined the soldiers in rifling them of 
their contents. This was soon put a stop to by General Geary, 
who immediately appointed a provost guard to protect and pa- 
trol the city. Indeed, there was not much in the stores to rifle, 
for on the night of the evacuation "Wlieeler's cavalry broke into 
them, carrying off everything of value, and throwing the re- 
mainder into the streets. 

Wherever Wheeler's wild and recldess freebooters halted, a 
reign of terror commenced. They inspired a perfect dread 
among the inhabitants wherever they went. They rifled and 
plundered everything of value, and, if opposed, burned down 
the houses. Indeed, they were more dreadful to their friend^ 
than to their enemies. 

General John W. Geary, commanding the 2d division, 20th 
army corps, commonly called the " White Star Division," was 
placed in command of the city. 

He divided the city into two districts, the eastern and west- 
ern, under command of Colonel Wood and Colonel Barnum. 

Tliey had a strong provost guard at their disposal, and were 
to see tliat order was preserved, and to perform all other duties 
25* 



294 sheeman's march through the south. 

belonging to their office, wliicli they did Avitli general satis- 
faction. • 

General John W. Geary has had great experience both as a 
soldier and as an executive officer. In his former character his 
name has been prominent before the country. In the latter 
capacity I mean to treat of him now. 

He was long the alcalde of San Francisco, and subsequently 
mayor. His firm administration as governor of Kansas in 
troublous times helped much to tranquillize the disaffected there. 
He has firm administrative abilities, is a man of great force of 
character and resolution, and of a kind, accessible disposition. 
Pie patiently listens to the complaints and entreaties of all, but 
administers justice with a firm, impartial hand. 

His government of Savannah gave great satisfaction ; and 
when General Sherman was about commencing his campaign 
through Carolina, a deputation of the most respectable citizens 
waited on him, requesting that he would leave General Geary 
in command of the city. General Sherman could not well spare 
so active an officer from the field, and therefore declined. 

The people learned to regret General Geary the more since 
his successor. General Grover, did little to conciliate the people, 
but much to dishearten them. 

His rule gave a great deal of dissatisfaction ; even tender 
ladies felt it so humiliating that they left the city. 
* A wiser and better man, Major General Steedman, now com- 
mands the department, and ^vill, no doubt, do much to render 
fair and impartial justice to all parties. 

The following were the officers of Geary's staff: — 

Captain W. T. Forbes, A. A. A. G. and Chief of Staff. 
Captain S. B. Wheelock, A. A. Ac. 
Lieutenant Colonel A. H. Jackson, Inspector. 
Captain Moses Viele, A. D. C. 
Captain John J. Cantine, A. D. C. 
Lieutenant W. C. Armor, A. D. C. 
Captain G. L. Parker, Post Q. M. 
Captain James Gillette, Post Commissary. 



MEETING OF THE CITIZENS. 295 

General Geary and the above officers will be long and kindly 
remembered in Savannah for their upright administration and 
courteous bearing to all parties. 

Savannah soon became dull and quiet. All apprehensions on 
the part of the inhabitants wore away by degrees, and each day 
witnessed an increase of the citizens on the streets, surprised 
and gratified to find that no insults were offered, or wrongs com- 
mitted by Federal troops. They found that the terrible stories 
of outrage and crimes committed by our army in captured 
cities were mere fables got up to fire the southern heart against 
the Federal army. 

The falsity of these absurd and extraordinary stories has been 
proved by the conduct of our soldiers since their occupation of 
Atlanta. 

While marching through the country, where military restraint 
cannot control all, excesses may be committed ; but where 
military influence is concentrated, it is impossible for them to go 
unpunished. 

The southern people now see the effects of their mad course. 
So much suffering has ensued, so many families have been 
bereaved, commerce has been so completely destroyed, and 
industry so paralyzed, that all sigh for a return to the old 
regime, or some one at least that will restore quiet and business 
activity. 

The mayor convened a meeting at the Masonic Hall, which 
was well attended, and a committee was appointed to draw up 
resolutions giving expression to the sense of the meeting. The 
preamble embraced the sufferings of the people, and resolutions 
were passed submitting to the new order of things, among Avhich 
was the following ; — 

Besolvedy That we accept the position, and, in the language of 
the President of the United States, seek to have " peace by laying 
down our arms and submitting to the national authority under 
the constitution,"^ leaving all questions which remain to be 
adjusted by the peaceful means of legislation, conference, and 
votes. 



296 sheeman's march through the south. 

Such were the views of the leading men of Savannah ; but 
General- Sherman, in one of his special orders, defined for them 
clearly the line of policy he meant to adopt to meet the present 
emergencies. In his order he stated that " the city of Savan- 
nah and surrounding country will be held as a military post, 
and adapted to future military uses. 

" During war the military is superior to civil authority, and 
where interests clash, the civil must give way ; yet where 
there is no conflict, every encouragement should be given to 
well-disposed and peaceful inhabitants to resume their usual 
pursuits." 

General Sherman's orders placed military interests paramount 
to all others. 

He seemed anxious to consult for the civil as well as the 
military government of the city. 

'General John W. Geary issued a more generous and elab- 
orate order for the government of the city, in which he said, — 

" All public and private property will be protected ; and 
wherever necessary for such purposes special guards will be 
assigned. No private property will be taken or used against 
the consent of the owners." 

General Geary did all in his power to encourage the citizens 
at the same time to establish friendly relations towards the 
Federal government, and to make them feel that their inter- 
ests were reciprocal. There was a great deal of poverty in 
Savannah at the time of its occupation. Even some of the 
most respectable families were suffering, and were forced to sell 
cakes and corn-dodgers to soldiers through their basement 
windows for a livelihood. 

Rations of bread and meat were soon issued ; and the north 
liberally responded to the wail for bread that came from the 
conquered city. Two ships, freighted with bread-stuffs and 
meats, soon steamed into the harbor with their precious car- 
goes. 

A committee was appointed for their distribution, and the 
good work went on. General Geary and staff spared no exer- 
tions to alleviate the sufferings of the people. 



DESCRIPTION 'OP SAVANNAH. 297 

Upright and just in the discharge of his duties, attentive to 
the wants and wrongs of the people, General Geary's short 
administration gained him a reputation for heroism and justice 
that will be long remembered in Savannah. 

Descrijption of Savannah. 

Savannah is the largest and most important city in Georgia, 
and is situated on the south bank of the Savannah River. Pre- 
vious to the war, it had a population of about sixteen thousand 
whites and twelve thousand blacks. It is built upon a sandy 
terrace, some forty f^et above low-water mark. 

It is a scattered kind of city, with wide streets, densely shaded 
with trees, and abundance of small shady parks or squares, of 
which it counts no less than twenty-four. 

Some of the streets have four rows of trees, the centre being 
a grass promenade, with carriage drives on both sides. 

It has some very fine buildings, such as the Custom House, 
the City Exchange, the State Arsenal, besides some very impos- 
ing churches, and other buildings. 

There is a fine Doric obelisk erected to the memories of 
Generals Greene and Pulaski in Monument Square, opposite the 
Pulaski House. The corner-stone of this monument was laid 
by Lafayette in 1825. 

Another very elegant monument to Pulaski stands in Chip- 
pewa Square. 

This general, who was a distinguished Pole, fell in an attack 
on the city while occupied by the British in 1779. 

Close by is the cemetery of Boneventure, a strange and solemn 
home of the dead, amidst the shades of the green forest trees, 
which look like so many gigantic mourning plumes fretted with 
their dark pendent moss. Many of these old tombs have now 
fallen into decay, and the tangled oaks, pines, and vines give the 
place something of a gloomy forest air. 

Savannah was founded by General Oglethorpe in 1732, and 
was conspicuous during the war of independence. 

It fell into the hands of the English in 1778, but was recov- 
ered in 1783. 



298 Sherman's march through the south. 

Though the old mounds, aud ditches, and forts of revolution- 
ary time^ are now obliterated, new ones have sprung up in their 
place to excite the curiosity of other men and other times. 
Savannah is considered pretty healthy. The climate in winter 
is delightful. 

The non-cultivation of the rice swamps around it have mate- 
rially contributed to its sanitary condition. The country around 
Savannah is flat and sandy, — in some places barren, in others 
very fertile, — possessing a rich alluvial soil. The drives and 
walks about the city are very pleasant, shaded as they are by 
the bay, the magnolia, and orange trees. 

There are a great many places of revolutionary interest 
around Savannah. 

At Gibson's plantation, a battle occurred in 1782, between 
General Wayne and a body of Creek Indians, commanded by 
Garistersigo. 

The British landed at Brewton Hill preparatory to their 
attack on the city in 1778. Its chief river is the Savannah, 
which divides Georgia from South Carolina and Alabama. 
The principal towns on this river are Augusta and Savannah, 
the latter eighteen miles from its mouth. 

The head waters of the Savannah are, the Chattooga and 
Terrora, which unite and form the Tugalo. This makes a junc- 
tion with the Kiowee, thus forming the Savannah. 

Savannah has some important islands, the largest of which is 
Tybee, at its mouth, five miles long and three miles wide. 

Near Savannah there are large swamp tracts, with luxu- 
riant groves of oaks, and pines, and tangled vines, shrouded in 
that strange dark-gray moss which hangs in heavy bunches from 
branches, and stems, and trunks. The country along the river 
is flat and marshy, intersected by numerous sedgy inlets, bayous, 
and swamps, a fit home for the numerous alligators that inhabit 
these shores, and bask and sun themselves in perfect security 
among the tall reeds or sedgy grass. 

They are not pleasant customers to come across, particularly 
if you chance to pick up a close acquaintance with a venerable 
gentleman some twelve feet long, \rho might, without any 



FORTS PULASKI AND JACKSON. 299 

boasting on his part, claim to be that venerable individual " the 
oldest inhabitant of the place." 

Savannah was strongly fortified, and with a well-provisioned 
garrison might withstand a large army for a long siege. The 
taking of Fort McAllister, on the Ogeechee, gave us a base 
and access to the city without encountering the works on the 
Savannah River. 

Fort Pulaski, named after Count Pulaski, is a powerful, 
massive brick structure, and could mount one hundred and 
forty guns, though it had nothing like that number when cap- 
tured. 

It commanded the mouth of the river. 

Fort Jackson, called after Governor Jackson, is on the south 
side of the city, distant about three miles. It had perfect com- 
mand of the Savannah River. Besides these old works, the 
rebels occupied several others of their own construction. The 
city was strongly protected by intrenchments, forts, and redoubts, 
making, on the whole, a formidable place to attack. 



300 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE MARCH INTO SOUTH CAROLINA. — BUMMERS.— SHOOTING 
BLOODHOUNDS. — THE PETS OF THE ARMY. 

We now come to Sherman's last and crowning campaign 
through the Carolinas. While he remained in Savannah he 
was busily employed refitting the army and making proper dis- 
positions of captured rebel property. By the middle of Janu- 
ary he was ready to resume his march, but the broken state of 
the weather and other causes retarded it. 

General Grant had sent Grover's division, of the 19th corps, 
to garrison Savannah, and had drawn the 23d corps, Major 
General Schofield commanding, from Tennessee, and sent it to 
reenforce the commands of Major Generals Terry and Palmer, 
operating on the coast of North Carolina. 

Sherman's campaign through the Carolinas is not to be judged 
by hitherto recognized military rules or precedents, for he proved 
himself not only a great fighter and flanker, but also a great 
strategist. He inaugurated a new code of tactics, which com- 
pletely bewildered and defeated the enemy. * He discarded the 
old, efiete style of sitting down before natural barriers and for- 
tified places, to take them by assault, or tire them out by siege. 
Had he done so, owing to the nature of the country over which 
he had to operate, his march would have been slow indeed. 
Discarding such movements, he swept over the country in 
separate columns, now throwing one ahead, now another, thus 
flanking the most formidable positions. 

The opening campaign to Atlanta was through a country 
beset with natural obstructions of the most formidable kind, 
which Johnston knew too well how to improve. 

Those we encountered through South Carolina, though of a 



MARCH RESUMED. 301 

different nature, were no less difficult. True, we had no Buz- 
zard Roost nor Kenesaw to scale, but we had to cross wide 
rivers, whose sedgy, oozy banks were covered for miles with 
dismal swamps. Through these we had to build roads or cross 
on single causeways, barely sufficient for four men abreast, and 
in many cases to dislodge an intrenched enemy at their heads. 

After all the vaunting gasconade of the southern press and 
people, South Carolina prostrated herself at our feet even more 
than Georgia. They boasted, on the opening of Sherman's 
campaign, that the great Palmetto State would whip the pusil- 
lanimous Federals, though they were deserted by all the other 
states. Alas for human degeneracy, or rather human hum- 
bug ! The Spartan State cringed before Sherman's legions. 
This state, that had hatched treason from the beginning, and had 
worked itself into such a fury at sight of the Yankee legions, 
has bitterly paid the penalty of her disloyalty. Her cities are 
in ruins ; her plantations are devastated ; her domineering aris- 
tocrats are houseless, homeless outcasts, scattered over the 
world, while a wail of anguish goes forth from her widows and 
orphans. 

A new regime has been established. The canaille has risen 
to power on the necks of their lords and masters. The poor, 
whipped, scourged, despised slave is now his own master. 

No general order had been issued by General Sherman rela- 
tive to the campaign, as the special order on the opening of the 
Savannah campaign was still in force. All baggage and trans- 
portation were reduced to the lowest possible standard. Wall 
tents were prohibited, except as offices, and one for head- 
quarters. 

We started with about thirty days' rations and eight days' 
forage. 

According to the plan, the army of the Tennessee was to 
take the right wing, — the 17th corps moving on the extreme 
right, and the 15th corps on the right centre, — taking up their 
line of march from their temporary encampments around Beau- 
fort and Pocotaligo, along the roads between the Coosawhatchie 
and the Combahee Rivers. 
26 



.302 Sherman's march through the south. 

The army of the Cumberland, under Major General Slocum, 
occupied, the left, the 20th corps the left centre, and the 14th 
corps the extreme left, — both marching from Savannah, on the 
right of the Georgia Central Railroad, crossing at Lester's Fer- 
ry and Union Causeway, then keeping to the right until they 
formed a junction with the army of the Tennessee. Kilpatrick's 
cavalry operated partly in front and partly in flank of the left 
wing, extending well in on the river. 

General Sherman travelled for the most part with the right 
■wing. 

As to Sherman's intentions and destination, they appeared a 
mystery to all. I believe he had no definite course laid down, 
for his movements were controlled by those of the enemy. Had 
he struck right for Charleston, the enemy could concentrate 
and mass in his front, thus retarding his march, and forcing 
him to a general engagement, which he did not wish to bring 
on ; for he was too far from his base, and not in a position to 
care for his wounded. The same would hold good had he 
moved for Augusta, or any special place. He moved his army 
in four columns, each strong enough to resist any force the ene- 
my could bring against it, yet moving near enough to concen- 
trate, should a large force threaten either. Their separate 
movement foiled the enemy. They had to detach their forces 
to try and keep us in check. By Sherman's masterly move- 
ments they soon found themselves isolated and helpless. Sher- . 
man's object was first to destroy the network of railroads 
running through South Carolina, connecting Charleston with 
Richmond, Augusta, Columbia, and other important points. In 
this he fully succeeded, compelling them to evacuate Charleston, 
and rendering Augusta and other points of no military value to 
the enemy. 

About the 16th of January the 17th corps and three divisions 
of the 15th corps were conveyed in transports from Savannah 
to Beaufort. The 17th corps proceeded to Pocotaligo Landing, 
where they had a slight encounter with the enemy, but soon 
took the fort, with the loss of a few men. Brevet Major Gen- 
eral Corse, 4th division, 15th corps, took up his line of march 



FEDERAL OCCUPATION OF BEAUFORT. 803 

with the left wing, which crossed the Savannah River at Sister's 
Ferry. It was also the intention to send the 3d division by land, 
across the Savannah River and an estuary of the sea at Union 
Causeway ; but the flooding of the country by the heavy rains 
and freshets forced them to cross in transports. The same cause 
retarded also the general advance of the army, which was 
to take place about the 20th of the month. The fall of rain, 
which was the heaviest remembered in Savannah, flooded the 
whole country, converting it into one sea. 

Some of the troops who had commenced their march were 
forced to bivouac on rice swamps and islands" for several days, 
being unable to advance or retire. In some cases supplies liad 
to be conveyed to them in boats. So intense was the flood that 
the country was covered over for miles. The men were up to 
their waists on the plantations, and the pontoons on the river 
were swept away ; even some men and teams were lost. The 
14th corps, and two divisions of the 20th corps, had fared in 
like manner. Geary's division remained in the city until he 
was relieved by Major General Grover, who now assumed 
command. 

General Sherman transferred his headquarters to Beaufort on 
the 23d, and expedited the transportation of troops and supplies, 
the last of which had passed over by the 29th. His able chief 
quartermaster. General Easton, displayed his usual energy and 
zeal in furnishing transportation and forwarding troops and 
supplies. 

On the 26th of January the 20th and 14th corps took up their 
line of march towards Sister's Ferry, along the Georgia side of 
the river. 

On the evening of the 29th, the 17th corps, commanded by 
Major General Frank Blair, broke camp around Pocotaligo, and 
moved towards the Combahee River, resuming their march next 
day, on the right of the Savannah and Charleston Railroad, 
where they had some slight skirmishing with the rebel cavalry, 
whom they shelled out of the woods on the opposite side of the 
river. 

The 15th corps, commanded by Major General John A. 



304 Sherman's march through the south. 

Logan, took up their line of march along the Beaufort road, and 
encamped on the night of the 30th between the railroad and 
McPhersonville. 

The army of the Tennessee rested on the 31st, to allow the 
left wing to come up, and also to have all delayed troops and 
supplies join their command. 

Movements of the 17th Corps. 

General Frank Blair broke camp near Pocotaligo Landing on 
the 30th of January, and moved on the Saltketcher road, on 
the south bank of the river. 

On the 1st they continued their march. General Mower's di- 
vision in advance, to Whippy Swamp Creek. Here the 9th 
Illinois infantry, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes commanding, skir- 
mished sharply with the 3d South Carolina cavalry, driving 
them back on the main road towards the swamp. The cause- 
way over the swamp was spanned by seven bridges, which the 
enemy had burned on their retreat, thus flooding the roads, and 
rendering them almost impassable with slashed trees. General 
Mower crossed his entire division (1st) over the swamp by 
wading, and over fallen trees, keeping up a fire all the time with 
the enemy. General Howard. Colonel William E. Strong, 
Lieutenant Taylor, and their orderlies, advanced to reconnoitre, 
when the rebels opened on them, badly wounding Lieutenant 
Taylor. 

Next morning the whole column took up its line of march 
for Braxton Bridge, meeting the enemy's cavalry, who made a 
stubborn resistance. General Mower deployed his advance 
brigade ; found Braxton Bridge burned by the enemy, and they 
occupying a strong position on the other side with three brigades 
of infantry and two batteries of artillery. General Mower left 
one regiment to skirmish with them there as a feint, and pushed 
the rest of his command for River Bridge, where he was joined 
by Colonel Hughes's cavalry, which engaged the enemy, making 
several spirited charges on their lines. In one of these Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Kirby, of General Blair's staff, had his horse 
killed, and was himself wounded in the leg. The relBels bad 



WHIPPY SWAMP. 305 

been pressed so closely that they were not able to burn all the 
bridges crossing the numerous inlets to the Saltketcher. They 
commanded River Bridge with two pieces of artillery. Mower's 
skirmishers advanced close on the river, so as to command the 
enemy's works. Here Colonel Swayne, 43d Ohio, lost his leg 
by a shell. 

The next morning General Giles A. Smith's division (4th) 
roconnoitred along the Saltketcher, above Braxton Bridge, for 
a position to cross, and finally succeeded by wading through a 
deep swamp. General Mower succeeded in crossing two bri- 
gades above River Bridge, thus turning the enemy's position. 
Heavy skirmishing continued all day, but the enemy fell back 
in the night. 

General Logan moved on towards Beaufort Bridge, which he 
found destroyed by the enemy. This bridge crosses the Salka- 
hatchie River near the church, on the Owensboro* road. Here 
we learned that the 20th corps, which was on our right, was 
within connecting distance, and that it had communication with 
the 14th corps, whose march had been considerably delayed by 
the bad state of the roads. They were well under way now, 
meeting but slight resistance from the enemy's cavalry. Kil- 
patrick's cavalry was advancing on the front and flank of the 
14th corps. 

Next morning, February 5, we crossed Whippy Swamp, 
encamping on the other side. Whippy Swamp is a dense 
marsh, of about one mile in breadth and several in length, well 
colonized by snakes and alligators. The rebels commanded 
this causeway by a strong intrenchment, with redoubt and lu- 
nettes. Here a regiment could keep a whole army at bay ; but 
the movement of the 17th corps turned this strong natural po- 
sition. 

Our line of march now lay along the Savannah and Orange- 
burg road — the very road over which Marion marched during 
the revolutionary war. 

Wheeler's cavalry, commanded by himself in person, made a 
vigorous stand near Orange Church, on the Little Salkahatchie. 
Their front was protected by a deep swamp, formed by the 
26* 



306 Sherman's march through the south. 

extension of the river, and easy of defense. Colonel "Weaver's 
brigade, of General John A. Smith's division, deployed and 
charged right througli the swamp, up to their hips in mud and 
water, and soon dislodged the enemy. 

Wheeler had his headquarters in a house beyond the river 
the previous night. Sherman and Logan occupied it the follow- 
ing night. 

About five miles above the Coosawhatchie Bridge the enemy 
occupied a redoubt in a curve of the river, which they had 
mounted with four guns. These considerably annoyed our right, 
but were silenced by our sharpshooters. 

On February 1 we broke camp before day, marching along 
the McPhersonville road towards Hickory Hill. 

The road was flooded in several places. The rebels had 
felled trees across these bayous, which were soon cleared oflT by 
our pioneers. 

In front of our column the 29tli Missouri mounted infantry 
and 7th Illinois, under command of Major Buckhart, kept press- 
ing on the rebel videttes and skirmishers. 

Major Buckhart rendered very efficient services all through 
with his command, in skirmishing with the enemy, ascertaining 
their position, and feeling their lines. 

At Sand Hill the column halted for some time on Mr.Peoples's 
plantation. 

Harris's brigade of Tennessee cavalry disputed our passage 
across the Coosawhatchie Bridge. Colonel W. II. Ross, chief 
of artillery, 15th corps, ordered up a section of the 12tli Wis- 
consin battery, which shelled the w^oods, while our sharpshooters 
covered the bridge. Major Generals Sherman and Logan oc- 
cupied the house of a Mr. McBride as their headquarters. 

This place is at the head of the causeway that crosses the 
Coosawhatchie Swamp, and about thirty-five miles from Poco- 
taligo Landing. 

We had some slight skirmishing in our front all day, the 
rebel cavalry making a feeble show of resistance. We met a 
few dead rebels along our line. 

A few miles farther on, near Beech Branch, where we bivou- 



PROGRESS OF THE ARMY. 807 

acked for the night, was a splendid marble-fronted residence, 
belonging to a Mr. Bostick, Avho had been an extensive planter 
and slave-owner. He was said to have about one thousand 
slaves on his different plantations. He had taken all the able- 
bodied through the rebel lines, leaving but the young and 
infirm. 

Wc now got into a rich tract of country. There were large 
clearings along the line of road, with some fine plantations and 
negro surroundings. Though the houses were mostly deserted, 
they were well stored with provisions, showing that their owners 
took French leave. 

I had been lunching with Major General Hazen as General 
Sherman came round. 

After some conversation, General Hazen, seeing a thick 
smoke, remarked, " There goes the bridge." 

" I am sorry," replied General Sherman. Then, after gazing 
a few minutes, he exclaimed, " No, Hazen, no ; that's a house ; 
it is not the bridge. A bridge would not emit such a dense 
smoke." 

He was right. It showed what an observer he was even of 
small things. 

Generals Sherman and Logan had their headquarters at night 
near Duck Creek, on the Coosawhatchie. General Howard 
travelled with the 17th corps. 

General Logan had some smart skirmishing with a cavalry 
brigade on our front, but finally dislodged them. 

About 10 o'clock, on the morning of the 7th, the 29th Mis- 
souri mounted infantry struck the Charleston and Savannah 
Railroad at Banbury. This station is some fifteen miles west 
of Branch ville, and nearly equidistant from Charleston, Augusta, 
and Columbia. We were so close on the rebels that they had 
to unload several cars of cotton. Major General Wood's divis- 
ion, which was in advance, immediately commenced tearing up 
the track, which they destroyed for several miles. About the 
same time the 17th corps struck it at Midway. 

At Hamburg we burned about three hundred bales of cotton 
and some stores. We also captured a mail-bag. It contained 



308 Sherman's march through the south. 

several letters from soldiers to their friends, all in the most de- 
sponding tone. 

On the evening of the 8th, General Hazen ordered General 
Jones's brigade (2d) out on a reconnoissance towards Cannon's 
Bridge, on the Edisto River, the enemy being intrenched on the 
other side. Three companies of the 54th Ohio were deployed 
as skirmishers. After w^ading through a dense swamp for about 
three hundred yards, they got to the edge of the river, and com- 
menced skirmishing. This was intended merely as a feint. 

Next day we reached this village, where we destroyed the 
track along our route, burned the railroad and several bales of 
cotton. Here Hazen's division diverged north, taking the Sa- 
vannah and Augusta line ; thence proceeding to Holman's 
Bridge, on the South Edisto. 

The enemy were strongly intrenched on the opposite side of 
the river, and had burned the bridges in their front. The first 
brigade, Hazen's division, was sent down some distance as skir- 
mishers. The 55th Illinois crossed the river considerably above 
the bridge, so as to strike the enemy's flank. They had to cross 
over on trees and floats, and then wade near a mile through a 
miserable swamp before they effected a lodgment. 

Next morning I rode down to the bridge, where I found the 
hero of Fort McAllister — General Hazen — guiding the move- 
ments of his pioneers, who were felling trees for the troops to 
cross over. This had to be done for about a mile, as the swamp 
was at some places four feet deep. 

The rebel defense was poor indeed. They had about three 
hundred infantry and some cavalry here ; yet they made no 
stand before a handful of men, who hfid to wade across a swamp 
as best they could for about a mile. 

On the evening of the 9th, the 17th corps succeeded in effect- 
ing a landing at Binneker's Bridge, where the enemy had been 
intrenched. General Mower had crossed below the bridge during 
the night, and pontooned the river and corduroyed the road. The 
rebel position being now turned, they retreated. 

On the 11th Blair marched about eighteen miles, and skir- 
mished with the enemy on the north fork of the Edisto, tho 



PROGRESS OP THE ARMY. 809 

enemy using artillery. They were strongly intrenched on the 
other side, and extended their flanks to correspond with ours. 

On the 2d of February, when the right wing was fairly on its 
march, the left wing was trying to extricate itself from the mud 
and swamps around Sister's Ferry, and moved on to Lawton- 
ville, which was burned by the 20th corps, when they went into 
camp on the evening of the 8th. Next morning they moved 
for Barnwell, which they left in ashes on the 11th. 

Next day they tore up ten miles of the Charleston and Au- 
gusta Railroad, and on the 13th they crossed the South Edisto, 
and the following day the North Edisto. Up to this they had 
encountered no opposition from the enemy, except some slight 
skirmishing, which was carried on by our foragers. The 14th 
corps encountered a slight obstruction from the enemy near 
Lexington, and destroyed the most of that place. 

Kilpatrick did not meet the enemy until his advance reached 
the river, near Barnwell, where a small force of the enemy 
kept him some time in check. Thence he moved for Blackwell, 
on the line of the Augusta and Charleston Railroad. Kilpatrick, 
learning that Wheeler, with a corps of cavalry, and Cheatham, 
with a corps of infantry, were cut off from the main rebel army 
at Branchville, being deceived by our feint on Augusta, marched 
along' the line of railroad to Johnston Station. 

Colonel Spencer, commanding the 3d brigade, encountered a 
large force of rebel cavalry under General Hagan. A very 
sharp engagement ensued, in which Colonel Spencer succeeded 
in repulsing the enemy and capturing three battle-flags, and a 
considerable amount of guns, sabres, and blankets. 

On the 11th the cavalry struck Aiken, and encountered the 
enemy in force. The 2d brigade, under General Atkins, had 
been thrown out in advance, and met the enemy, Wheeler having 
massed his cavalry around Aiken. 

The 9 2d Illinois and 9th Michigan cavalry made a stubborn 
resistance, but were subsequently driven back to Kilpatrick's 
main line, near Johnston Station. Here Kilpatrick remained 
in camp until the 13th, and then moved towards the South 
Edisto. 



810 Sherman's march through the south. 

Nothing of great interest occurred until the 27th, save cross- 
ing the north fork of the Edisto River and the Saluda River. 
On that day, owing to the many reports concerning the capture 
and murder of men belonging to his command. General Kilpat- 
rick arranged for an interview with Greneral Wheeler, at Lan- 
caster, in regard to an order from General Sherman, that 
prisoners in our possession should be shot in retaliation for the 
murder of our men by Wlieeler. This answered a double pur- 
pose : first, giving an opportunity for a more perfect understand- 
ing relative to the alleged atrocities ; second, causing the enemy 
to believe our point of attack to be Charleston. 

The interview was very pleasant, considering the circum- 
stances, and had the desired effect. Nothing was knoAvn of the 
murders by General Wheeler, and he positively asserted that 
no such thing had been committed by any organization of his 
command, and, furthermore, he would endeavor to learn if there 
were any truth in it. 

There can be no denial of the assertion that the feeling among 
the troops was one of extreme bitterness towards the people of 
the State of South Carolina. It w^as freely expressed as the 
column hurried over the bridge at Sister's Ferry, eager to com- 
mence the punishment of " original secessionists." Threatening 
words were heard from soldiers "svho prided themselves on 
" conservatism in house-burning" while in Georgia, and officers 
openly confessed their fears that the coming campaign w^ould be 
a wicked one. Just or unjust as this feeling was towards the 
country people of South Carolina, it was universal. I first saw 
its fruits at Rarysburg, where two or three piles of blackened 
brick and an acre or so of dying embers marked the site of an 
old revolutionary town ; and this before the column had fairly 
got its " hand in." 

At McBride's plantation, where General Sherman had his 
headquarters, the out-offices, shanties, and surroundings were all 
set on fire before he left. I think the fire approaching the 
dwelling hastened his departure. 

If a house was empty, this was prima facie evidence that the 
owners were rebels, and all was sure to be consigned to the 



DEPREDATIONS OF THE SOLDIERS. 311 

flames. If they remained at home, it was taken for granted that 
every one in South Carolina was a rebel, and the chances Avere, 
the place was consumed. In Georgia few houses were burned ; 
here, few escaped; and the country was converted into one 
vast bonfire. The pine forests were fired, the resin factories 
were fired, the public buildings and private dwellings were fired. 
The middle of the finest day looked black and gloomy, for a 
dense smoke arose on all sides, clouding the very heavens. At 
night the tall pine trees seemed so many \iuge pillars of fire. 
The flames hissed and screeched, as they fed on the fat resin 
and dry branches, imparting to the forests a most fearful ap- 
pearance. 

Vandalism of this kind, though not encouraged, was seldom 
punished. True, where every one is guilty alike, there will be 
no informers ; therefore the generals knew little of what was 
going on. The only cases I knew of theft being punished was 
on one or two occasions. 

General Davis caught two soldiers stealing female apparel 
out of a house, leaving the family almost naked. He ordered 
the rufiians to be dressed out in the women's clothes, and made 
to march behind a wagon, tied to it, for six days, amidst the 
scofls and jeers of the men. 

General Geary caught a captain plundering a house ; he took 
his sword from him and ordered him to be tied up behind a 
wagon. Major General Stanly caught a soldier coming out 
of a house with women's clothing ; he gave him such a hearty 
application of his boot that the rufiian rolled head foremost 
into a deep sink-hole. 

Captain Wiseman, of General Morgan's stafl", detected a man 
taking the coverlets from a bed, and ordered him out, when the 
man seized his gun and turned on the captain, who drew his 
sword, parried the blow, and cut the fellow's ear off* with one 
stroke. Had every officer done likewise, the respect and morale 
of the army would have been improved. 

The ruined homesteads of the Palmetto State will long be re- 
membered. The army might safely march the darkest night, the 
crackling pine woods shooting up their columns of flame, and 



312 Sherman's march through the south. 

the burning houses along the way would light it on, while the 
dark tlouds and pillars of smoke would safely cover its rear. 

Foragers and bummers heralded the advance of the army, 
eating up the country like so many locusts. These fel- 
lows, mounted on scraggy old mules, or cast-off horses, spread 
themselves in one vast advance guard, and oftentimes went 
twenty miles ahead of the main columns. They returned at 
night with strings of chickens, bacon, turkeys, and geese, em- 
bellishing themselves and their horses, or with a buggy or 
carriage, which they had borrowed from the owner, well laden 
with supplies. 

Sometimes some adventurous youths, who had gone too far, 
to have the first haul, got captured, and most likely had their 
throats cut. 

The bummers of diiferent corps sometimes fought among one 
another about the spoils, and at other times fraternized to- 
gether, in order to dislodge some troublesome enemy. 

I was standing on the piazza of a plantation house, watching 
the burninpr dwellin<2^s around. The owner turns to me with an 
exultant look, and says, — 

" There, I knew it would be so ; I told the d — d fools it 
would come to that, but they only laughed at me. There is 
Jennings's mills on fire ; well, serves him right ; he was always 
preaching secession, the d — d scoundrel. I hope they will hang 
him ! Theg, there is Milken's house in a blaze, too ; and there 
is Harrison's following them. I told them it would be so ; but 
the fools laughed at me, and called me a Yankee. Well, now 
they know who was the fool, and I don't care a d — n how soon 
my own follows them." 

A Teutonic member of the 9th Michigan cavalry walked into 
camp one day with a rebel prisoner. The captor was unarmed, 
while the prisoner had a rifle slung on his shoulder. On reach- 
ing headquarters, the Dutchman saluted, and said, — 

" Captains, dere ish un brisner." 

"Where did you get him?" inquired the adjutant general. 

" Well, yer see, I was in der perginning of der fight, and gut 
cut off; and, without der gun or horse, hid in der swamp. 



DEPREDATIONS OF THE SOLDIERS. 313 

Pimepy, I sees der Shoney coming up ; so I shust shiimped 
pehind der tree to grab liims. Der tarn fool didn't comes close 
ter nuff, an' I slieps out mit ' Surrender ! ' I shook hands mit 
him, and we made une compact to strike for ter camp ; and, if 
it so pe we make rebel lines, I was to pe his brisner ; and, if 
der were ter Unions lines, he is to pe mine brisner." 

The story seemed so improbable that the rebel was appealed 
to, and confirmed the Dutchman's tale, merely adding, — 

" I were tired of toting the gun, and wanted to sell out cheap 
for cash or hard tack." 

I came up to a retired plantation house, just set on fire. The 
soldiers were rushing off on every side with their pillage. An 
old lady and her two grandchildren were in the yard alarmed 
and helpless. The flames and smoke were shooting through the 
windows. The old lady rushed from one to another, beseeching 
them at least to save her furniture. They only enjoyed the 
whole thing, including her distress. I turned to them, and 
said, — 

"Boys, look at that poor, crazy woman, and those helpless 
children ; you all have mothers, some of you children ; think 
of them, and any of you that are men will follow me." 

They did follow me, and soon a thousand dollars' worth of 
splendid furniture was rescued from the burning house. I was 
near losing my life in saving a photograph of her husband, 
which hung over the mantel-tree in one of the rooms on fire. 

The word " bummer " has so often occurred in this work, that 
I think it well to give an account of the signification of the name. 
Any man who has seen the object that it applies to will acknowl- 
edge that it was admirably selected. Fancy a ragged man, 
blackened by the smoke of many a pine-knot fire, mounted on 
a scraggy mule, without a saddle, with a gun, a knapsack, a 
butcher knife, and a plug hat, stealing his way through the pine 
forests far out on the flanks of a column, keen on the scent 
of rebels, or bacon, or silver spoons, or corn, or anything valu- 
able, and you have him in your mind. Think how you would 
admire him if you were a lone woman, with a family of small 
children, far from help, when he blandly inquired where you 
27 



314 Sherman's march through the south. 

kept your valuables. Think how you would smile when he 
pried open your chests with his bayonet, or knocked to pieces 
your tables, pianos, and chairs, tore your bed clothing in three- 
inch strips, and scattered them about the yard. The bum- 
mers say it takes too much time to use keys. Color is no 
protection from these roughriders. They go through a negro 
cabin, in search of diamonds and gold watches, with just as 
much freedom and vivacity as they "loot" the dwelling of a 
wealthy planter. They appear to be possessed of a spirit of 
" pure cussedness." One incident of many will illustrate : A 
bummer stepped into a house and inquired for sorghum. 
The lady of the house presented a jug, which he said was too 
heavy ; so he merely filled his canteen. Then taking a huge 
wad of tobacco from his mouth, he thrust it into the jug. The 
lady inquired, in wonder, why he spoiled that which he did not 
want. " O, some feller '11 come along and taste that sorghum, 
and think you've poisoned him ; then he'll burn your d-^d old 
house." There are hundreds of these mounted men with the 
column, and they go everywhere. Some of them are loaded 
down with silver ware, gold coin, and other valuables. I hazard 
nothing in saying that three fifths (in value) of the personal 
property of the counties we have passed through were taken by 
Sherman's army. 

It is strange what a fancy soldiers had for pets in general. 
It was no unusual sight to see a squirrel contentedly perched on 
a soldier's knapsack, as he trudged along, or to see an unhappy 
coon, led by a string at his side, timing march with him. As for 
chickens and roosters, they held secure possession on the wagons, 
evidently well contented with their lot, and assuming a great 
many swaggering airs. The hot blood, which the roosters 
vented all day in defiant crowing, was often allowed to cool at 
night ; for if we got into camp in good time, dog and cock fight- 
ing enlivened the evening. Groups of officers were collected 
with two roosters in the centre, with erect feathers and defiant 
heads, sparring and fencing, until at length one of them lay quiv- 
ering on the daisy, to the no small satisfaction of all parties 
present, except the defunct warrior and his backers. 



soldiers' pets. 315 

Not far from this gentlemanly sport, you might see a larger 
gi'oup excitedly swaying around and crying out, " Stick to him 
bully ! " " That's a good dog, Jeff! " and on looking you saw 
two great mastiffs, or bloodhounds, fiercely tearing one another. 
•Speaking of dogs in the army, I must say that few bloodhounds 
were allowed to live, except some peculiar one that took the 
fancy of an officer. As for the general run of these animals, 
they were relentlessly shot down, the men simply remarking, 
*' Here goes to spoil that 'ere dog's scent for Union prisoners or 
niggers ; " and a bullet did for the poor brute. 

As we came near deserted houses, it was pitiful to see the 
poor, half-starved cur go up to the men with a most melancholy 
countenance, as much as to say, " I have seen better days, but 
am now starving ; just let me go along, and I will be a good, 
dutiful dog." Sometimes he gets a kick or a bullet for his con- 
fidence ; at other times he is not noticed, and he strives hard to 
look as if he belonged to some one. He seems to know full 
well what it is to be nobody's dog there ; the fate of others warns 
him, and he knows his fate is sealed if he is once detected to 
be an outcast. He will follow an officer who calls him, wag 
his tail as if it would twist off, appear most grateful, and would 
fain follow him to the end of the earth if allowed ; if not, he 
slinks back, with a heavy heart, but with a cheerful look, as if 
he had met his master and was hunting up. He lives well on 
the offal of the camp, and if any one gives him protection he 
is all right ; or if he can pick up a friendly acquaintance with 
some lucky dog, who claims a colonel or a captain for master, 
under his patronage he is sure to get along. 

We also had a variety of poodle dogs, with collars and flossy 
hair, and screaming paroquets. 

Seth had picked up a most interesting parrot. It was an 
educated and highly-trained bird. Polly did not like the 
change of owners, and freely expressed her dislike by calling 
every one that Avent by, " nasty fellow." 

It was touching to hear her use some of her favorite expres- 
sions: "Papa, dear papa, come to tea;" " Welcome, Massa 
James ; " and " Miss Lizzy, Polly is hungry, Polly is hungry." 



316 Sherman's march through the south. 

The poor bird seemed to droop for the want of Lizzy's fos- 
tering tare. Alas, where was Miss Lizzy now? Most likely 
a terrified outcast from home and friends. Where was " papa," 
or " Massa James," whether brother or lover? Perchance they 
are rotting beneath the shade of some pine tree, while the dear 
ones they cherished are without a protecting hand to guard 
them or food to support them. 

I must here speak of another class of animals, which have 
been wretchedly abused in the army ; I mean horses and mules. 
These noble brutes were flogged, kicked, cursed most unmerci- 
fully by rude teamsters, oftentimes for no oflTence at all, bnt to 
gratify the bad passions of their brutal masters. 

If an officer or wagon master censured a teamster for any 
neglect, he was sure to revenge it on his mules. Should he 
loiter on his way, he made up the time by flogging and cursing 
the animals. Should his wagon get stuck, they were urged on 
by a stout hickory applied to their heads and ribs. I could tell 
you the disposition of a teamster by looking at his mules. If 
they were fleshy and cheerful looking, he was a kind master ; 
if lean and dispirited looking, with straggling harness, he was 
a blaspheming, blustering bully. As for blaspheming, I often 
thought the teamsters had taken a special contract to do the 
swearing for the army. Indeed, I think they prayed in oaths. 
Though soldiers in general swear terribly, I assure you they 
could not hold a candle for our teamsters. Cavalry horses, too, 
have not been treated much better. They are ridden almost to 
death in search of booty through the country, and are soon used 
up and unfit for service. 

I would suggest the propriety of establishing a regular vet- 
erinary corps, who should see that animals are properly 
treated. 

As we picked up some of the first-blooded horses of the south, 
which, of course, are appropriated to Uncle Sam's use, or to 
the use of his officers, though some of them were with foal and 
had to be led, we could not help trying their mettle. There- 
fore, if we only halted a day, we v/ere sure to get up a race, 
which was generally well attended. One of these came off in 



HORSE-RACING. 317 

Georgia, near a stream, with the enemy at one side and we 
racing at the other. It was a very exciting race, and bets were 
freely laid and taken ; but as the enemy became spiteful, and 
did not seem to relish the thing, we had to deploy a heavy line 
of skirmishers along the stream to keep them amused, and pre- 
vent them from spoiling our fun. 
27 * 



318 Sherman's march through the south. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

DESCRIPTION AND APPEARANCE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. — VISIT 
TO WOODLANDS. 

The sea islands of South Carolina extend along the coast 
from Winyaw Bay to the Savannah River, and are composed 
of a rich, vegetable loam of great fertility, producing sea island 
cotton, corn, and rice. The orange tree and palmetto flourish 
among these islands. The tide flows a considerable way inward 
among the rivers, irrigating the immense extent of marsh land 
that borders the rivers. These lands, though unhealthy, are 
very valuable as rice plantations. 

The region between the tide swamps and the sand hills of 
the middle country extends for nearly one hundred miles. 

The river swamps here, too, are immense, extending in some 
places six miles in width, and are unfit for cultivation, but 
afford a safe retreat for water fowls and alligators. Across 
these dismal swamps our armies had to force their pas- 
sage. Beyond these the sand-hill region extends for some 
thirty miles towards Columbia, and includes the extremes of 
sterility and fertility. The high, poor lauds are covered with 
pitch pine, black jacks or dwarf oaks, while the low lands bor- 
dering the rivers produce corn, cotton, and rice in abundance. 

The country extending from the sand-hill region to the moun- 
tains, some ninety miles, possesses a pretty uniform character. 
The surface is clay, covered for the most part with a rich soil, 
mixed with sand or granite. The rolling nature of this tract 
of country gives it rather a picturesque appearance. This 
tract extends along the Broad River, in York and Spartansburg 
districts. The mountainous country is confined to Pendleton 
and Greenville districts, and, though the soil is rather sterile, 
the country is pleasant and healthy. 



SIRIMS AND HIS PLANTATION. 319 

At "Woodlands, about one mile south of Midway, is the 
residence of the poet and novelist, Mr. Simms. It is an old- 
fashioned, unfinished brick building, with massive, ungainly 
porticos. It is a strange, castellated-appearing affair, with 
something of a weird look about it. Our skirmishers and for- 
agers paid a hasty visit to Mr. Simms, and, as he was not at 
home, they thought they would do the honors of the house 
themselves, and fell to helping themselves liberally. On hear- 
ing this. Major General Frank Blair placed a guard over the 
place to protect the house, furniture, and fine library. Mr, 
Simms is a thorough, rabid secessionist, full of southern preju- 
dices, and a fierce calumniator of northern character and insti- 
tutions. 

Mr. Simms's plantation is a good type, of the lowland planta- 
tions of South Carolina. Since we left Savannah the country 
was one vast lowland plain. Large plantations, with their 
numerous surroundings, fringe the road, while behind the cidti- 
vated lands, — which, by the way, here as well as in Georgia, 
are converted into corn, instead of cotton fields, — the dark 
pine forests raise their evergreen heads. The cypress and wild 
vine, too, festoon the forest. In front of Mr. Simms's house 
are some venerable trees, beneath which the vine and cypress 
have formed fantastic bowers, with their delicate foliage and 
garlands of hanging moss. Not far from the residence is a 
dark, solemn swamp, formed by the expansion of the Edisto 
over the lowlands. This is full of fallen trees, Gothic arches of 
cypress and vines interlacing their branches in strange shapes, 
while the ever-pending moss waves its funereal-looking pall 
over the miasmatic, poisonous air of swamp >ands. Here revel 
in secure enjoyment wild fowl, serpents, and alligators. 

Such dismal swamps are frequent in Carolina, but chiefly 
abound along the sea coast from Savannah to Charleston. 

The people of South Carolina, despite all their boasted chiv- 
alry, submitted to Yankee rule and usurpation with neither 
grace nor dignity. In Georgia, we had to respect the high- 
toned feeling of the planters, for they yielded with a dignity 
that won our admiration. In Carolina, the inhabitants, Avith a 



320 Sherman's march through the south. 

fawning, cringing subserviency, hung around our camps, crav- 
ing a bii to eat, while our foragers disinterred barrels of pork 
and sweet potatoes around their premises. 

In every instance the negroes have proved our friends, giv- 
ing us valuable information relative to the enemy's movements ; 
also acting as scouts and spies, informing us where the enemy 
had concealed their cattle, and the like. The poor, despised 
negroes looked upon our arrival as fulfilling the millennium — 
the days of " jubilon." In most cases they have been faithful 
friends, sheltering and feeding our prisoners, and giving us 
valuable information. They possess a large share of shrewd- 
ness, and take a more just view of the present struggle than we 
generally gave them credit for. They look upon the Yankees 
as their friends ; on their old taskmasters, as their inveterate 
enemies. 

A man named William Clark, formerly of Colonel Walford's 
cavalry, came into our lines. He was an escaped prisoner, and 
had been concealed for eight weeks by the poor negroes. He 
remained in the swamps by day, and joined his kind protectors 
at night. Though they would be liberally rewarded for be- 
traying him, still they Avere faithful. We have always found 
the despised negro to act so. Their masters have lately tried 
to conciliate them. An old negro said to me, " Massa 'come 
so kind ; though massa cross, he'd drink out of the same gourd 
with the poor nigger." 

While halting at the plantation of a Mr. People, I had a 
quiet chat with an old, patriarchal negro. 

Mr. People chanced to be at home, and all his young and old 
negroes crowded around, to gape and wonder at the much 
dreaded Yankee army. Among them was a venerable African. 

*' How do you get on, father?" I asked. 

"Well, massa, dis 'ere nigger gets on poorly, as you s^e. 
Massa calls me a young man, and makes dis nigger work like 
a boss." 

" Has massa any money here?" asked some of the boys. 

" Lots of dis 'ere dead money." 

*' Why do you call it dead? " 



THE WHITE SLAVE. 321 

" Well, you see, if a hoss is cut, you call him 'ere wounded ; 
if he is scotched terbly, he dies like dis 'ere money." 

" How do you like the Yanks ? " I asked the old African. 

"Yeah, yeah! Yanks fine; not like the tallow-faced rebs 
look, who lib on corn coffee and swash all dere lives." 

While the old African was making this philosophical dis- 
tinction, I overheard a little picaninny whisper, — 

" Mamma, the Yanks have good feet ; not like de debbil, as 
massa says." 

The planters told all sorts of absurd stories to their slaves 
about our men, to frighten them at our approach. They 
informed them that we were killing all the male children, and 
yoking the men and women as oxen, or selling them in Cuba. 

A white slave came into our lines and reported to General 
Logan. His name is James Le Roach, of French descent by 
his father. His great grandmother was a pretty Indian girl, 
and reared by a Mr. Torrens, by whose son she had a daughter, 
who was sold to a Mr. Western, of Charleston, who had a 
daughter by her. The latter was the mother of our slave, and 
kept in servitude by her half sister, a Mrs. Smith, who after- 
wards sold both mother and children to heartless traders, who 
trafficked them over the country. This man was about forty 
years of age, slight build, long, sandy hair and whiskers, and 
evidently without a particle of African blood in his veins ; yet 
he was the bondman of his kinsman. 

Plate and valuables were buried everywhere — out in the 
swamps, in the beds of streams, under newly-made flower gar- 
dens, and even in graves. In no place were they safe from the 
prying Yankee or traitorous slave. 

The graves were even ransacked, and though sometimes the 
coffms yielded golden treasure, at other times a decomposing 
corpse, perhaps a woolly negro, rewarded the sacrilegious gold 
seekers. 

The following very amusing incident, showing how a Yank 
was outdone, came under my own observation. 

Some soldiers were foraging round a house owned by some 
pretty secesh ladies. 



322 Sherman's march through the south. 

One of the men, seeing the earth in the garden freshly turned 
up, asked, " What is buried there?" 

" Nothing," was the reply. 

" You can't come it over a Yank that way. I guess I'll find 
something worth looking after here." 

He fell to digging, the lady appearing quite distressed, and 
requesting that he would desist. This only fired his cupidity, 
and he dug the more vigorously, until he had got down some 
six or eight feet. He would not even suffer any of his com- 
rades to help him, claiming the whole as his perquisite. 

It chanced to be an old well that had recently been closed up. 
At length the young girl told those looking on, when a good 
laugh was had at his expense. He got up, put on his coat, 
and made tracks, using very strong language to soothe his 
injured feelings. 

I inquired of an old lady who was intently gazing at us 
whether she ever saw any Yankees before. *' O, yes ; we 
often seen your fellows with a pack on their backs, or with a 
monkey and organ ! " 

On the 11th of February, all the army was on the railroad 
from Midway to Johnston's Station, thereby dividing the enemy's 
forces, which still remained at Branchville and Charleston, on 
the one hand, and at Aiken and Augusta, on the other. 

The 17th corps crossed the south fork of Edisto River at 
Binneker's Bridge, the 15th at Holman's Bridge. 

The approaches to this river were protected by the usual 
swamps,, trees, and brush. We had ascertained from one of 
General Logan's orderlies, who had been captured, and was 
afterwards recaptured by the 29th Missouri mounted infantry, 
that the enemy were intrenched along the north-east bank. We 
had also ascertained that these works were guarded by Chal- 
mers's brigade. Early in the morning. General Logan ordered 
General Hazen to feel the enemy at Shilling's Bridge. 

The 2d brigade. Colonel Well Jones, at once proceeded to 
try the passage here. 

The 111th Illinois and 53d Ohio deployed as skirmishers, 
and after wading through the swamp up to their waists, they 



CITY OP ORANGEBURG. 323 

opened a sharp fire on the rebels, which was briskly 
responded to. 

The 4:7th Ohio had gone up the river some distance, and not 
finding the enemy there, crossed over on rafts, while Colonel 
Theodore Jones's brigade (the 1st) had been equally successful 
some miles lower. At the same time General Blair's corps 
(the 17th) was striving to effect a crossing in front of Orange- 
burg. The enemy had a section of artillery here, which 
opened upon them. Soon, finding that we had crossed on their 
flank, and were threatening their rear, they retreated at all 
points. Our loss was only two killed, and about six wounded. 
Hazen's division captured about fifty prisoners ; the 17th corps 
some more. 

About four o'clock the head of Blair's column entered 
Orangeburg. 

Orangeburg is on the Columbia branch of the South Carolina 
railroad, ninety-seven miles from Charleston, and forty-seven 
from Columbia. It had been a pretty place before the war, and 
had a population close on two thousand. It was built upon a 
rising bluff, one of the first we met since we left Savannah. 
It possessed some historic relics of the revolutionary war. It 
was formerly looked upon as a healthy, pleasant retreat, and 
was, therefore, rather a fashionable little place. 

When I reached the city, it was in flames. Our men say 
that they found several houses, in which cotton was stored, on 
fire when they entered it. Be this as it may, the whole town 
was soon in flames, and by the following morning one heap of 
ashes. 

The tasteful churches, with their tall steeples, and about 
fifty private houses, alone escaped. A large amount of cotton 
was also consumed. It was a sad sight next morning to wit- 
ness the smoking ruins of the town, the tall, black chimneys 
looking down upon it like funeral mutes, and to see old women 
and children, hopeless, helpless, -almost frenzied, wandering 
amidst the desolation. 

The Orphan Asylum is somewhat in the rear of the town, and 
then contained over two hundred children. It is a branch of 



324 Sherman's march through the south. 

the Charleston House. During my visit there, the children 
went through their exercises, — sang songs and hymns in a 
most creditable manner. It was presided over by a New York 
lady, — A. E. Irving, — a very sensible lady, who talked freely 
about the present troubles. Her sympathies were with the 
south. She felt very keenly for her helpless charge, now that 
the railroads are torn up, and the country devastated. She 
saw nothing but starvation before them. Alas ! I could not 
hold forth one ray of hope to her. 

Our columns were now fast closing in about Columbia. We 
averaged, at this time of our march, nearly fifteen miles a day. 
Sherman had deceived the rebels. Those in Augusta were 
completely cut off by the destruction of the Charleston line. 
Those at Branchville were also bewildered as to our move- 
ments. 

After the capture of Orangeburg, our troops made a rapid 
march, meeting but little opposition from the enemy, until they 
approached Little Congaree Creek. Here they seemed re- 
solved to make a stand. Logan's corps had marched through 
by-roads until they struck the state road, near Sandy Run. 
Blair's corps had followed the state road from Orangeburg, and 
formed a junction with the rear of the 15th corps at Sandy 
Run post office. 

Major General Wood's division (1st) had the advance, and 
skirmished with the enemy for some time, driving them back 
behind the creek. Here they were strongly intrenched, and 
commanded the bridge by a section of artillery ; besides, their 
left was protected by the Congaree River, while a deep stream, 
with soft, marshy banks, lay in their front. 

A regiment waded the river on their right and left, com- 
pelling the enemy to give up their position. Our skirmishers 
pressed so closely on them, that their cavalry wheeled round 
and charged them, but were speedily repulsed. 

Their artillery kept up a continuous fire all night on Major 
General Hazen's headquarters and command, wounding several, 
and taking the leg off of one of Colonel Jones's staff officers, 
in his quarters. 



CITY OP COLUMBIA. 325 

Early on the morning of the 15th, Major General Hazen 
threw forward his skirmishers, and ascertained that the enemy 
had fallen back behind the Congaree, burning the fine bridge 
that spanned the river just on the edge of Columbia. Hazen 
had now occupied the front with detachments from his com- 
mand. Major Generals Howard, Logan, Blair, and others 
rode to the front, to join Hazen and reconnoitre the position, 
though the rebel battery was sweeping the road with round 
shot and canister. 

Colonel Ross, chief of artillery, 15th corps, ordered up 
Captain De Grass's battery. This splendid battery, under its 
dashing young captain, took up position, and silenced the rebel 
battery that commanded the road. A section was placed close 
to the bridge, so as to sweep the streets of the city, which were 
crowded with soldiers, citizens, and wagons, clearing out of the 
town. 

The shells soon burst among them, making them file right 
and left in double quick time. Captain Zickerick's 12th Mis- 
souri battery, and also some guns from the 17th corps, soon 
took up position on a commanding hill, and opened on the 
trains that were leaving the depot. "We were within five hun- 
dred yards of the city, which was situated on a rising bluff on 
the other side of the river, so that we could smash it to pieces 
in a short time by bringing sufficient artillery to bear on it. It 
appeared to be Sherman's intention to shed as little innocent 
blood as possible. 

We expected every moment that the city would be surren- 
dered, for it now lay hopelessly in our power. About nine o'clock 
General Sherman and staff arrived ; also Generals Blair and 
Slocum. As the rebels seemed inclined to defend the place to 
the last, and as the river at this point, from its wide and rapid 
nature, did not appear favorable for pontooning, General Hazen 
ordered General Oliver to send his brigade to Saluda, and try 
and effect a crossing near that village, and, if possible, to save 
the bridge. 

General Oliver sent forward the 99th Indiana and 15th 
Michigan, but found that the bridge had been burned. After 
28 



326 Sherman's march through the south. 

some skirmishing, General Hazen, in person, ordered men to 
cross over in boats and on rafts, wliicli they succeeded in doing 
without any loss. 

While this was taking place, our mounted infantry, com- 
prising the 29th Missouri and 7th Illinois, dashed into Saluda, 
a small village on the banks of the Saluda River. 

This place contained the Columbia Mills, the largest manu- 
factory in the south, and gave employment to about four hun- 
dred hands, chiefly females. Near the village is one of the 
prison camps of our men, and called Sorghum Camp, as this 
article composed their chief diet. It was situated on a sandy 
bluff. The huts were formed of logs, their sides thickly covered 
with earth. Here they had no fire, as was evident from the 
absence of chimneys, and the appearance of the woods around. 
As several succeeded in escaping from this, they were removed 
to the Asylum enclosure for security. As I intend giving a 
detailed account of the sufferings of these martyrs of the Union, 
I will now pass over the subject. It was sad to see in Saluda 
groups of female operatives w^eeping and wringing their hands 
in agony, as they saw the factory, their only means of support, 
in flames. It is truly said, " War is a cruelty." Neither can 
it be refined ; for the innocent suffer for the crimes of the 
guilty. 

Towards evening we had pontooned and crossed the Saluda, 
and charged the rebels across the tongue of land which sepa- 
rates it from Broad River. Though our men were close 
upon them, they succeeded in burning the bridge, having cov- 
ered it over with combustible matter. Towards morning two 
regiments of Colonel Stone's 2d brigade. Mower's division, 
17th corps, crossed the river in rafts and boats. 

General Logan selected a narrow point of the river, where 
some men crossed over in boats, the men on our left moving ; 
down on the rebel sharpshooters. 

It was a lovely sight ; the morning sun rose glowing and ' 
beautiful, its sparkling rays lighting up the house-tops of the 
doomed city, and dancing over the bnght waters like diamond 
gems, bathing the river with its silvery rays. The shadows of 



THE FEDERAL GENERALS. 327 

the forest trees advanced along the sparkling waters as the 
boats shot over its surface, and the click of the rifle and whir 
of the bullet echoed around. 

The engineers at once proceeded to lay the pontoons, while 
the high bluff on the margin was crowded with officers and 
men. There was General Sherman, now pacing up and down 
in the midst of the group all the time, with an unlit cigar in his 
mouth, and now and then abruptly halting to speak to some of 
the generals around him. Again he would sit down, whittle 
a stick, and soon nervously start up to resume his walk. Above 
all the men I have ever met, that strange face of his is the 
hardest to be read. It is a sealed book even to his nearest 
friends. 

Sitting on a log beside him was Howard, reading a news- 
paper, and occasionally stopping to answer a question of Sher- 
man's, or make a comment on some passage. 

Howard always looks the same — the kind, courteous gen- 
eral, the Christian soldier. 

Another of the group was Frank P. Blair, with his strongly- 
marked features, indicative alike of talent, energy, and ability. 

John A. Logan, too, was there, with his dark, almost bronzed 
countenance, and fiery, commanding eye, the true type of the 
dashing general. 

Not least was General Hazen, the hero of McAllister, with 
his frank, expressive features, and finely-moulded head, beto- 
kening the warm-hearted gentleman, the soldier of mind and 
brains. 

These, with several other generals, with a host of gay officers 
and orderlies in the background, formed a group worjthy the 
pencil of a Rubens or Vandyke. 

Colonel Stone's brigade were now advancing on Columbia, 
and when within about two miles of it, he met the mayor, Mr. 
Goodwin, and three members of the City Council, coming out 
in a carriage to surrender the town. 

Colonel Stone, Major Anderson, of the 4th Iowa, and Captain 
William B. Prett, aid-de-camp of General Logan's staff, and sev- 
eral other officei-s, proceeded with the deputation into the city^ 



328 Sherman's march through the south. 

when ^e mayor delivered up the keys, and made a formal sur- 
render. The loth Iowa, Colonel Kennedy, claims to be the first 
to hoist the stars and stripes upon the old capitol, where the 
first ordinance of secession originated. The 31st Iowa claims 
the honor likewise. However, the 13th Iowa was the first 
official flag that floated from it. 

As soon as the pontoon was laid, General Sherman, accom- 
panied by several other generals, their staffs and orderlies, 
forming a brilliant cavalcade, rode into the city amidst a scene 
of the most enthusiastic excitement. Ladies crowded the win- 
dows and balconies, waving banners and handkerchiefs. They 
were the wives and sisters of the few proscribed Union people 
of Columbia. As for the rich, haughty secessionists, they had 
all fled. Negroes were grouped along the streets, cheering, 
singing, and dancing in the wild exuberance of their new-born 
freedom. Perhaps the most flattering compliment paid to us was 
by a negro, whom, with upturned features and clasped hands, I 
heard exclaim, "At last! at last! our saviours!" Ringing 
cheers and shouts echoed far and wide, mingled with the 
martial music of the bands as they played " Hail, Columbia," 
" Yankee Doodle," and other national airs. It was, indeed, an 
exciting scene, and one well worth living to witness. 

Our march through the city was so orderly that even the 
southerners began to bless their stars that the reign of terror 
was over, and that a reign of peace and security, like that at 
Savannah, was about being inaugurated. Alas that the scenes 
of the night should mar so auspicious a beginning ! 



DESCRIPTION OP COLUMBIA. 329 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

DESCRIPTION OF COLUMBIA. — THE CITY ON FIRE. — DREADFUL 
SCENES IN THE STREETS.-WHO IS RESPONSIBLE.- SUFFERINGS 
OF THE PLANTERS' FAMILIES. 

CoLUiviBiA, the capital of South Carolina, is one hundred and 
twenty-eight miles from Charleston by railway. It has been a 
beautiful city, situated just at the conflux of the Saluda and 
Broad Rivers, which form the Congaree. It was famed for its 
fine public buildings, its magnificent private residences, with 
their lovely flower gardens, which savored of Oriental ease and 
luxury. It is hard to conceive a city more beautifully situated, 
or more gorgeously embellished, with splendidly shaded walks 
and drives, with flowers, shrubberies, and plantations. Birds 
of splendid plumage sang and sported in its gardens under the 
delicious influence of the sunny skies. 

The city was laid out in 1787, and had rapidly increased 
in beauty and population, the latter amounting to about ten 
thousand previous to the war. Most of its stores and public 
buildings were of brick, while most of the private residences 
were framed, neatly painted, with piazzas hanging with plants 
and creepers. Its churches, insane asylums, colleges, and other 
public buildings were very fine. The new capitol, built of fine 
granite, would be a magnificent building if completed. Colum- 
bia College, the Alma Mater of the Tazewells, the Barnwells, 
the Rhetts, the Hamptons, and other distinguished men, is a 
splendid educational establishment. The Park is a lovely 
promenade, while the private residences are unsurpassed in 
the elegance of their finish, the beauty of their grounds, and 
the luxury of their fittings. A spell of ease and voluptuous 
luxury seemed to pervade the place. Flowers, pictures, statu- 
28* 



330 Sherman's march through the south. 

ary, select libraries, all that the arts and sciences could contrib- 
ute, adorned its halls and private residences. In the house of 
General John C. Preston, formerly United States minister and 
senator, where General Logan had his headquarters, I have 
seen works in literature, painting, and statuary, that would 
enchant a savant. In the basement, in a box unpacked, was a 
Venus, of Italian marble and finest w^orkmanship, worth, at 
least, from ten to fifteen thousand dollars. As General Logan 
gave orders not to have the house burned, I hope it has escaped. 
Woodlands, the residence of General Wade Hampton, was a 
magnificent place, but has been burned down by our soldiers. 
He is married to Preston's sister. It is no wonder that Eve 
was discontented in Paradise, when a people with so much to 
gi'atify the most epicurean tastes rebelled. 

The rebels left forty-five pieces of artillery, fifteen loco- 
motives, immense government stores, of all kinds, besides 
a large amount of cotton. Piles of cotton were burning along 
the streets, but a great deal was yet untouched. I understand 
there were no fewer than nine generals and the governor in 
Columbia just a few hours before our occupation. These 
included Johnston, Beauregard, Hampton, Wheeler, and Butler. 
They were expecting, up to the last moment, to be reenforced 
by Lee's troops from Branchville, and Dick Taylor's from 
Augusta. Besides, hearing of Sherman's army threatening 
Augusta and Branchville, they thought there was nothing but 
a small raiding party marching on Columbia. They little knew 
how they were out-manoeuvred, baffled, and isolated. 

I spent the evening in the capitol looking over the archives 
and libraries. Part of Colonel Stone's brigade — I think the 
13th Iowa, Colonel Kennedy's regiment — was on duty there. 

Towards night, crowds of our escaped prisoners, soldiers, 
and negroes, intoxicated with their new-born liberty, which they 
looked upon as a license to do as they pleased, were parading 
the streets in groups. 

As soon as night set in there ensued a sad scene indeed. 
The suburbs were first set on fire, some assert by the bm-ning 
cotton which the rebels had piled along the streets. Pillaging 



BURNING OF THE CITY. 331 

gangs soon fired the heart of the town, then entered the houses, 
in many instances carrying oiF articles of value. The flame 
soon burst out in all parts of the city, and the streets were 
quickly crowded with helpless women and children, some in 
their night-clothes. Agonized mothers, seeking their children, 
all aiFrighted and terrified, v/ere rushing on all sides from the 
raging flames and falling houses. Invalids had to be dragged 
from their beds, and lay exposed to the flames and smoke that 
swept the streets, or to the cold of the open air in back yards. 

The scene at the convent was a sad one indeed. The flames 
were fast encompassing the convent, and the sisters, and about 
sixty terrified young ladies, huddled together on the streets. 
Some of these had come from the north, previous to the war, 
for their education, and were not able to return. The supe- 
rioress of the convent had educated General Sherman's daugh- 
ter Minnie. He had assigned them a special guard of six 
men ; so they felt secure, and were totally unprepared for the 
dreadful scene that ensued. Some Christian people formed 
a guard around this agonized group of ladies, and conducted 
them to the Park. 

I trust I shall never witness such a scene again — drunken 
soldiers, rushing from house to house, emptying them of their 
valuables, and then firing them ; negroes carrying off piles of 
booty, and grinning at the good chance, and exulting, like so 
many demons ; officers and men revelling on the wines and 
liquors, until the burning houses buried them in their drunken 
orgies. 

I was fired at for trying to save an unfortunate man from 
being murdered. 

The frequent shots on every side told that some victim 
had fallen. Shrieks, groans, and cries of distress resounded 
from every side. Men, women, and children, some half naked, 
as they rushed from their beds, were running frantically about, 
seeking their friends, or trying to escape from the fated town. 
A troop of cavalry, I think the 29th Missouri, were left to 
patrol the streets ; but I did not once see them interfering with 
the groups that rushed about to fire and pillage the houses. 



332 Sherman's march through the south. 

Truer, Generals Sherman, Howard, and others were out giv- 
ing instructions for putting out a fire in one place, while a 
hundred fires were lighting all round them. 

How much better would it have been had they brought in 
a division or brigade of sober troops, and cleared out the town, 
even with steel and bullet ! 

General Wood's 1st division, 15th corps, occupied Columbia. 
Colonel Stone's brigade was the first to enter the city and hoist 
the flag over the capitol — enviable notoriety, had not the 
drunken, riotous scenes of the night sullied its honor. 

This scene continued until near morning, and then the town 
was cleared out, when there was- nothing more to pillage or burn. 

In the hospitals were some hundreds of rebel wounded. 
The agony and terror of the poor, helpless fellows while the 
fire raged around them were fearful ; but, fortunately, the 
buildings did not catch fire. 

"While the streets were crowded with murdering groups of 
demons from all the corps in the army, hundreds of noble- 
minded officers and civilians were exposing their own lives to 
save the lives and property of the citizens. 

Who is to blame for the burning of Columbia is a subject 
that will be long disputed. I know the negroes and escaped 
prisoners were infuriated, and easily incited the inebriated 
soldiers to join them in their work of Vandalism. Governor 
McGrath and General Wade Hampton are partly accountable 
for the destruction of their city. General Beauregard, the 
mayor, Mr. Goodwin, and others wanted to send a deputation 
as far as Orangeburg to surrender the city, and, when evacuat- 
ing, to destroy all the liquors. In both of these wise views 
they were overruled by the governor and Wade Hampton, the 
latter stating that he. would defend the town from house to 
house. 

On the other hand I must honestly say that I saw nothing 
to prevent General Wood, who was in command there, from 
bringing sufficient troops to clear out the place, or his superior 
generals either from putting a stop to such disgraceful scenes. 

The houses of the Prestons, Honystons, and other wealthy 



THE CITY IN RUINS." 333 

secesh were occupied as ofl&cial quarters, and were preserved. 
Several soldiers and citizens must have been buried in the ruins 
of falling houses, or caught by the devouring flames. Next 
morning I saw a lady, a crazy inmate of the asylum, whose 
child had been burned during the night. 

The 18th of February dawned upon a city of ruins. All 
the business portions, the main streets, the old capitol, two 
churches, and several public and private buildings were one pile 
of rubbish and bricks. Nothing remained but the tall, spectre- 
looking chimneys. The noble-looking trees that shaded the 
streets, the flower gardens that graced them, were blasted and 
withered by fire. The streets were full of rubbish, broken 
furniture, and groups of crouching, desponding, weeping, help- 
less women and children. 

The Park and Lunatic Asylum, as affording the greatest 
chance of safety, were crowded with these miserable outcasts. 
In one place I saw a lady richly dressed, with three pretty 
little children clinging to her. She was sitting on a mattress, 
while round her were strewn some rich paintings, works of art, 
and virtu. It was a picture of hopeless misery surrounded by 
the trappings of refined taste and wealth. General Sherman 
ordered six hundred head of cattle and some stores to be left 
for the nuns and the destitute. 

The scene of desolation the city presented next morning was 
fearful. That long street of rich stores, the fine hotels, the 
court-houses, the extensive convent buildings, and last the old 
capitol, where the order of secession was passed, with its fine 
library and state archives, were all in one heap of unsightly 
ruins and rubbish. Spendid private residences, lovely cot- 
tages, with their beautiful gardens, and the stately rows of 
shade trees, were all withered into ashes. 

The ruins alone, without the evidences of human misery that 
everywhere met the view, were enough to inspire one with 
feelings of deep melancholy. 

The ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum deeply impress the 
mind, and make it reflect the days of ^their glory and splendor 
before the molten tide of lava shrouded them. 



334 Sherman's march through the south. 

Hero, was desolation heightened by tlie agonized misery of 
human sufferings. 

There lay the city wrapped in her own shroud, the tall 
chimneys and blackened trunks of trees looking like so many 
sepulchral monuments, and the woe-stricken people, that list- 
lessly wandered about the streets, its pallid mourners. 

Old and young moved about seemingly without a purpose. 
Some mournfully contemplated the piles of rubbish, the only 
remains of their late happy homesteads. 

Old men, women, and children were grouped together. Some 
had piles of bedding and furniture which they saved from the 
wreck ; others, who were wealthy the night previous, had not 
now a loaf of bread to break their fast. 

Children were crying with fright and hunger ; mothers were 
weeping ; strong men, who could not help either them or them- 
selves, sat bowed down, with their heads buried between their 
hands. 

The yards and offices of the Lunatic Asylum were crowded 
with people who had fled there for protection the night previous. 

Its wards, too, had received new subjects, for several had 
gone crazy from terror, or from having lost their children or 
friends in the flanaes. 

The churches were full of people, who had crowded into them 
for shelter. • The Park was sought as a refuge, and in one cor- 
ner of it the helpless nuns and their timid charges were huddled 
together. Most of the young ladies were fropi the north. 

They had been sent to school there before the breaking out 
of the war, and were not able to return. The nuns supported 
them all through, though not able to get remittances from their 
friends. In this they were aided by generous people in the south. 

These young ladies felt bitterly the treatment of those calling 
themselves theu' friends, as they saw their convent in flames, 
and soldiers rushing through the fire after pillage. 

Sunday was a day of quiet in the city. The Sabbath bells 
tolled from the few churches remaining ; but there was some- 
thing solemn and melancholy in their chime, and sorrowing 
hearts knelt to the Lord for hope and comfort. 



HORRORS OP WAR. 335 

Some men of the 63d Illinois were detailed to cart the am- 
munition from the rebel arsenal to the river. When pitching 
the boxes into the water, they let one fall, which exploded, 
igniting the Avhole wagon load of shells, killing four men and 
wounding twenty. Among the killed was Captain Davis, 
Company F. 

Some of our men, escorted by negroes and escaped prisoners, 
paid a visit to a noted ruffian, a second Legree, who kept a pack 
of bloodhounds for the purpose of hunting down negroes and 
escaped Union prisoners. The boys disposed of his dogs, as 
they have done with all the bloodhounds they come across, 
burned down his house and place, then tied himself to a tree, 
and got some strapping negroes to flog him, which they did 
with a will, repaying in the lex taUonis style. 

The scenes I witnessed in Columbia — scenes that would 
have driven Alaric the Goth into frenzied ecstasies, had he 
witnessed them — made me ponder a little on the horrors of war. 

Those who are unacquainted with war cannot realize the 
fearful sufferings it entails on mankind. They read of it in 
papers and books, gilded over with all its false glare and 
strange fascinations, as a splendid game of glorious battles and 
triumphs, but close their eyes to its bloody horrors. The battle- 
field is to them a field of honor, a field of glory, where men 
resign their lives amidst the joys of conquest, which hallow the 
soldier's gory couch and light up his death-features with a smile. 
This sounds well in heroic fiction, but how different the reality ! 
Could these fireside heroes but witness a battle-field, Avith its 
dead, its dying, and wounded, writhing in agonizing tortures, or 
witness the poor victims under the scalpel-knife, with the field- 
hospital clodded with human gore, and full of the maimed 
bodies and dissected limbs of their fellow-creatures, war would 
lose its false charms for them. Could many a tender mother 
see her darling boy, uncared-for, unpitied, without one kind hand 
to stay the welling blood or wipe the death-damp from his 
brow, her gentle, loving heart Avould break in one wail of an- 
guish. War, after all, has horrors even greater than the battle- 
field presents. The death-wound is mercy compared to the slow 



836 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

torture of languishing in prison-houses — living charnel-houses 
of slow putrefaction — pale, spiritless, uncared-for, unpitied, gasp- 
ing and groaning away their lives in hopeless misery. And 
then think of the sacked and burned city ; think of helpless 
women and children fleeing in terror before the devouring ele- 
ment, without a home to shelter them, without bread to feed 
them ; think of the widows and orphans that water their scant 
bread with the tears of sorrow ; think of all the sufferings, 
misery, ruin, death, war entails on mankind, and you will curse 
its authors, and wish that God had otherwise chastised his 
people. Though war may enrich the Shylock shoddies, pay- 
masters, contractors, and speculative politicians, who sport gor- 
geous equipages and rich palaces out of the blood of their 
countrymen, it crushes the people under its wheels, like the car 
of Juggernaut, and oppresses the millions with taxation. 

From the prisoners who escaped at Columbia we heard some 
fearful accounts of their ill treatment. 

Private individuals showed that charity is universal by attend- 
ing them under all risks. They spoke in the highest terms of 
the attendance of the Sisters of Charity in the different bastiles. 
The ill treatment of our prisoners is the greatest blot on the 
reputation of the south. 

I give the following short account from an officer ; and ex 
WW disce omnes : — 

'' Lieutenant Meyer was captured at Point of Rocks, Mary- 
land, on June 17, 1863, two days after the battle of Winchester. 
From this he and several other officers and privates were 
marched back to Winchester, by way of Staunton, thence to 
Richmond, and was consigned to Libby Prison, where he was 
detained for eleven months. It is needless to detail the elegan- 
cies of Libby life, of which he fully partook. On the 4th of 
May, 18G4, he, in company with about a thousand others, were 
transferred to Danville, Virginia, where they remained but four 
days. Thence they were sent to Macon, where they arrived, 
after nine days' travelling on filthy cattle-cars, on the 18th. 
Here they were confined to the stockade, on the usual allowance 
of short rations, dirt, and neglect. At this time there were 



CRUELTIES TOWARDS PRISONERS. 337 

about fourteen hundred officers, and the following five generals, 
prisoners there : Brigadier Generals Hickman, Thellon, Wes- 
sel, Scammon, and Seymour, all of whom have since been ex- 
changed. On the 28th day of July they were sent to Charles- 
ton, where they arrived next day. Here they were consigned 
to the city jail, with convicts and women of loose character. 
Here they were detained fifteen days, and transferred to Eoper 
Hospital, where their treatment was pretty good. The Sisters 
of Charity attended them here, bringing the sick delicacies, such 
as fruits, fowls, and the like. Here they could see the flashes 
of the guns from James Island, and two shells struck the 
building. 

" On the 4th of October, about twelve hundred were trans- 
ferred to Columbia, and placed in a camp near Saluda Factory, 
two miles from Columbia. Here they were placed right down in 
the woods, without a hut or tent of any kind. After two weeks 
they were supplied with some tools, with which they made huts 
of logs, with their sides covered with earth. While here, sev- 
eral died from want and exposure, and three were killed while 
trying to make their escape, one of whom was Lieutenant 
Eikaws, 2d New Jersey. While here, a rebel officer kept six 
bloodhounds at the headquarters. They were regularly drilled 
every morning, in presence of the men, and often exercised in 
hunting down and capturing escaped prisoners. One morning 
the dogs came down to the well where the men got their water. 
Here they seized them and cut their throats, and threw them 
into a deep hole. When they were discovered, the officer re- 
marked, ' Yankees will suffer for this.* After this our officers 
were shot. 

" While at Charleston and Columbia, two Shylock brothers, 
named Quinby and Potter, took bills of exchange by power of 
attorney — for gold, five for one ; for greenbacks, two for one. 
We were glad to enter into this swindle, in order to save life. 
Their bill of fare here was : Five pintsrf^ corn meal, two spoon- 
fuls of rice, two spoonfuls of salt, and one pint of wretched sor- 
ghum molasses. These were the rations issued for five days. 
They did not get soap enough to wash their hands, not to speak 
29 



338 Sherman's march through the south. 

of their clothes. So many had effectffd their escape from this 
place, we were transferred to the Lunatic Asylum enclosure, 
which was a large yard with a high brick and stockade fence 
sixteen feet hicrh. Here we built twelve houses, each house 
containing thirty-six men. They then stopped supplying us 
with lumber ; so the remainder of the officers had to manage as 
best they could, some lying under houses, and some beside the 
walls. Plere they remained until the night of the 14th Febru- 
ary, when, on the approach of Sherman's army, half were 
placed on the train for Charlotte. Many of these escaped by 
making holes, in the night, through the cars with saAV-knives, 
which they concealed on their persons. The night was dark 
and rainy, and favored their escape. I have not the names 
of many of these. On the 15th the balance of the officers was 
sent off. Some sixty of them managed to escape in the follow- 
ing manner : In the yard were two hospitals. These were tem- 
porarily built with some space under the floors, and also between 
the ceiling-boards and roof. Into these the men managed to 
creep and conceal themselves, where they lay for forty-eight 
hours without anything to eat or drink. Here they lay con- 
cealed until they heard the firing in front of the city. They 
then got out, and were hid by the citizens until our army 
restored them to liberty, I might say to life." 

Marching orders were issued in the evening, February 10, 
for 7 o'clock the next morning. At General Logan's head- 
quarters I witnessed a most affiscting sight. Hundreds of Union 
citizens, who were burned out, begged to be taken off. A reg- 
ular train was organized for them under Major Reynolds, an 
escaped prisoner. The escaped officers were trying to get off 
those who were kind to them while in prison, and who had 
concealed them. It is thought that about two hundred offi- 
cers and several hundred men had escaped — some by getting 
into cellars, holes, citizens' houses, and other places ; more of 
them bribed the guards and conductors on the train, who gave 
them an opportunity to escape by cutting through the floors 
of the cars. 

The scene in the morning was truly exciting. Ambulances, 



AGAIN ON THE MARCH. 339 

buggies, carriages, and every kind of conveyance were put in 
requisition, and all kinds of Rosinantes in use. Old men, wo- 
men, and children were crowded together, willing to undergo 
all the hardships and dangers of the campaign in order to es- 
cape certain starvation and the infuriated rage of the southern 
soldiers. Men and women, who were not able to get off, wept 
like children. 

A refugee train was organized, and such as could or wanted 
to get off joined it. 

These, added to the thousands of negroes who had already 
fallen in, swelled our train to huge dimensions ; and it was a 
large drain on the resources and larders of South Carolina to 
support them. 

While the right Aving is resting at Columbia, we will give a 
resume of the march of the left wing. 

Saturday, February 11, the 20th corps marched to the Edisto 
River. Nine distinct streams, flowing sluggishly through a 
swamp half a mile in width where the road crossed, were the 
obstacles to be surmounted here. Two hundred rebel cavalry- 
men disputed the crossing for a while ; but a strong skirmish 
line, plunging through the swamp, dispersed them or drove them 
away in a body, and the corps crossed. General Williams's 
corps was now between the two forks which form the Edisto 
River. The balance of General Slocum's command was well 
up on the left, with Kilpatrick farther on that flank. The road 
across the point formed by the two branches was fourteen miles 
long. The corps marched to the north fork before night on the 
12th, and went into camp. The two hundred rebels who had 
been driven away from the Lower Edisto had concentrated 
here ; their force was augmented somewhat, and with the 
assistance of four pieces of cannon they made considerable noise. 
Skirmishing was kept up all that Sunday night, the pioneers 
working upon the bridge meanwhile. Monday morning the en- 
emy were gone. General Ward's division being in advance, 
that general mounted his kicking stallion, took two companies 
for skirmishers, and advanced towards Lexington and Columbia 
at a rattling pace. 



340 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

All day Tuesday the regiment of rebels skirmished with our 
advance 'but they were easily brushed away. Once they made 
a dash behind the advance, and captured Captain Reynolds, in- 
spector of General Robinson's brigade, and chased Captain 
Ward four miles or more. The enemy appeared in blue clothes, 
and were frequently hailed as Union soldiers. 

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday, February 15, 
General Barnum's brigade, of Geary's division, was at Two 
Notch road, two miles from Lexington and twelve from Co- 
lumbia. General Slocum had calculated upon Davis's corps 
being in the town at that hour ; but the rains and vile roads had 
prevented even that swift travelling corps from coming up. 
General Barnum's brigade was pushed into town, but arrived 
there just too late to strike a blow at the rear of the rebel cav- 
alry column, Avhich had been pouring through all day towards 
Columbia. Only a dozen shots were fired. Barnum's brigade 
was withdrawn, and the 14th corps marched up on a line with 
the 20th. 

General Slocum's wing of the grand army of invasion was 
concentrated for action Wednesday night, ten miles from Co- 
lumbia, facing towards that town ; and he issued the order for 
an advance on the capital early next morning, with the expecta- 
tion of a fight. Ward's division, of the 20th corps, closely 
followed by Jackson's, moved down the road parallel with Jeff 
C. Davis's troops, who had "gone through'' Lexington, and 
.struck the 17th corps on the banks of the Cougaree, opposite 
Columbia, shortly after noon. By having the shortest line of 
march, the right wing had reached Columbia first. 

From the front of Columbia, General Slocum's command 
moved to the left, across the Saluda and Broad Rivers, to the 
Greenville and Columbia Railroad, and destroyed that for thirty 
miles. Cheatham and S. D. Lee, with twenty thousand men 
from Hood's army, were reported by Kilpatrick as crossing the 
river at Newberry, and General Slocum's idea was to prevent 
a junction between them and Hardee's Charleston troops. We 
pushed rapidly on to Winnsboro', the capital of Fairfield dis- 
trict, where it was expected the rebel cavalry would give us a 



WINNSBORO' CAPTURED. 341 

fight. They were known to outnumber Kilpatrick's command 
two to one. Wade Hampton, Wheeler, and Butler were in 
command. Fairfield district is wealthy. Forage began to roll 
in ; more meat and breadstufFs than I saw at any one time 
during the Georgia campaign, were brought to the roadside day 
by day. 

General Slocum double-quicked the advance of his column into 
the village of Winnsboro' to save the town from the torch of his 
foragers. General Pardee's brigade, of Geary's division, was 
in advance, and every effort was made to beat the stragglers 
from the grand army into town. They were not successful. 
The town was pillaged and set on fire before any organized body 
of troops got in. All officers turned their attention to the fire, 
and arrested the progress of the flames. Generals Slocum, 
Williams, Geary, Pardee, Barnum, and all, worlced with their 
hands, burned their whiskers and scorched their clothes, to pre- 
vent the repetition of Columbia scenes. Nine or ten buildings 
were burned on the main street, before the fire was stopped, also 
the house of a Mrs. Pope, said to be the property of a man in 
New York city. Guards were posted at every house in town, and 
other fires were quenched as they burst out. Unfortunately the 
church building of the Episcopalian society was destroyed. 

Citizens of Winnsboro' told us that Mrs. Lunderdale, a rabid 
secession woman, set fire to her own property, rather than have 
it fall into Yankee hands, and so destroyed the property of her 
neighbors. 

From Winnsboro' the left wing marched to the Catawba River, 
striking it at Rocky Mount Ford, the scene of one of the South 
Carolina skirmishes during the revolution. Rocky Mount was 
one of Cornwallis's line of outposts. The CataAvba here is 
about a thousand feet wide, and runs through a very hilly coun- 
try. A pontoon was thrown across, and the 20th corps hurried 
over. The rain we feared cut off Geary's division, and the 
troubles increased. The red clay made heavy mud, and plenty 
of it. No idea can be formed by outsiders of the difficulties of 
the Catawba crossing. Wagons were hauled down the steep 
hill to the pontoon, dragging loads of mud by the axles, the 
29* 



342 

wheels not moving ; artillery horses floufldered, and cannon were 
stuck fa^. Virginia campaigners said it eclipsed Stafford 
Com-t- House. When the crossing was made, the ascension of 
the hi]l was just as difficult. Two days were spent by the 20th 
corps in this labor through the mud. The history of the 
troubles of the 14th corps would fill a volume. 

Dwight's Creek and other streams were crossed in rapid suc- 
cession, and the 20th corps reached the town of Chesterfield on 
Friday, the 3d of March. A brigade of rebels was driven out 
by General Jackson's skirmish line, and possession taken of the 
paltry town. A brick court-house and six houses comprise the 
village. 

From Chesterfield the left wing marched to the Great Pedee 
River, near the state line. Howard's wing was already in Che- 
raw. The Great Pedee, or Yadkin, of North Carolina, is quite 
a formidable stream to an army depending on pontoon boats ; 
and we were delayed on its banks two days. Crossing the cav- 
alry and the 14th corps, General Slocum plunged into the State 
,of North Carolina. 

The 14th corps moved in a parallel line with the 20th, being 
about fifteen miles from Columbia, and met no enemy. 

February 20, the army of the Tennessee broke camp around 
Columbia and resumed their march. The 17th corps destroyed 
about thirty miles of railroad, clear up to Winnsboro*, thence 
crossed the Wateree at Pey's Ferry, moving through Kussell 
Place to Young's Bridge, all the time threatened by a squad of 
Hampton's cavalry, Avho durst not attack. 

Logan marched through Red Hill and Flat Rock to Tiller's 
Bridge, on Lynch Creek. 

On the 24th the rebel cavalry, which was hanging on our 
flanks, attacked our foragers, killing six, two after surrender- 
ing, capturing several, and seven wagons. General Logan in 
person went out with a regiment, and repulsed the rebel cavalry 
after a brisk skirmish. 

He ordered two prisoners to be shot in retaliation for our two 
men, and sent a prisoner to inform the rebels that he would 
shoot five men for every prisoner of ours shot. 



' CAMDEN TAKEN. " 343 

"We captured about ten refugee trains to-day, Avlth valuable 
stores and supplies ; also several animals. Among those cap- 
tured were two officers, who Avere riding in a carriage when the 
Yanks pounced on them. They were well armed, but made no 
resistance. They said tbey were a principal and a second, 
going to fight a duel, and that the other parties had gone before 
them to the place of rendezvous. The officer captured was 
Captain W. F. De Pass, a celebrated duellist of South Caro- 
lina. His would-be antagonist was a Captain W. Courtney, a 
fighting quartermaster. Being chivalrous and obliging, we 
made every effort to catch the latter, in order to let them finish 
their little affiiir of honor in our presence, but failed. It shows 
how ignorant they had been of all our movements, when officers 
could be so foolishly engaged at such a critical moment. 

The 29 th Missouri captured about one hundred and twenty 
militia to-day, who had a wagon carrying their arms. Some 
of them were old, gray-haired men, barely able to move along ; 
others, too young to be taken from their mothers' leading- 
strings. They had been quietly marching along, with their 
guns in a wagon, and powder in casks, to keep it dry. General 
Hazen supplied some of these veteran militia with staffs. They 
were all let go at Cheraw. 

Major General Hazen's foragers approached Camden, and 
skirmished with some cavalry, driving them into the town, and, 
following them, soon took possession of it. They were sup- 
ported by the 112th Illinois, Colonel Adams, of Corse's division 
(4th). "We found about fifty thousand rations of corn meal, 
and four thousand bales of cotton, which we destroyed. Major 
Generals Howard and Logan sent in detachments next morning, 
who destroyed all government property, public stores, tlie depot, 
and some public buildings. Captain John H. Devereux, of 
Charleston, post commissary at Camden, while retreating, rode 
into the head of General Hazen's column, and was captured. 

The mayor and city council had prepared a very pretty speech 
and address to General Sherman on surrendering the city. It 
was rather mortifying to them to have it unceremoniously occu- 
pied by some foragers. 



344 Sherman's march through the south. 

Camden is a beautiful town, situated on the Wateree River, 
which is navigable for boats of light draught to that point, and 
is about thirty-five miles east of Columbia, and one hundred 
and forty miles from Charleston. It has some very pretty 
private residences, and appears to be a very healthy and fash- 
ionable resort. It is also a place of considerable historic 
interest. In August, 1780, a battle was fought here between 
the Americans, under General Gates, and the British, under 
Lord Cornwallis ; and another was fought in 1781, on the 
eastern slope of Ilobkirk's Hill now called Kirkwood, over 
which we skirmished, between General Greene and Lord Raw- 
don. A monument still marks the grave of Baron De Kalb, 
who fell in the former battle. The foundation stone was laid 
in 1825, by Lafayette. 

On the market-house stands a well-executed metallic efiigy, 
ten feet high, of King Haiglar, a famous chieftain of the 
Catawbas. 

I have entered so fully into a description of the negro follow- 
ers in our march through Georgia, that it is needless for me to 
repeat it here, or to dwell on the wholesale burning of houses, 
and devastation of property. Suffice it to say, that the swarms 
of negroes who had flocked in front, and rear, and flanks of our 
columns, were something to remember. All ages, sizes, and 
both sexes, were either mounted on broken-down mules or 
horses, or crammed into some rheumatic old coach, or were la- 
boriously toiling along, faint and sweating, rendering the air 
not very pleasant to the olfactory nerves. 

As for the wholesale burnings, pillage, devastation, commit- 
ted in South Carolina, magnify all I have said of Georgia 
some fifty fold, and then throw in an occasional murder, " jist 
to bring an old, hard-fisted cuss to his senses," and you have a 
pretty good idea of the whole thing. 

An apparently wealthy planter, feeling that he was quite safe 
under the aegis of the British lion's paw, pompously walks up 
to General Logan, with his hands stuffed in his capacious 
pockets, and his hat independently on, saying, " General, you 
see I want protection from these here houtrages ; " and he points 



THE BRITISH SUBJECT. . 345 

at two soldiers, one in pursuit of a young grunter, which 
seemed as indignant as his master at the outrages inflicted on a 
Hinglish subject ; another was carrying on an excited chase 
after a rooster, timing the amusement by an occasional fling at 
some members of the rooster's family that crossed his path. 

" Why should I give you protection?" 

" Sir, I claim protection. I am a Hinglish subject ! " he 
exclaimed, with the air of a Lord John Russell. 

"A what?" 

" A Hinglish subject, sir ; " and he actually swelled out, like 
the frog in the fable, at his own importance. 

" What the h — 1, then, are you doing here if you are ? The 
boys will take every hog and chicken you have, though you are 
a British subject. British subject be hanged 1 " 

The last thing we heard from the old gentleman, as we rode 
away, was, " I'll have redress," " Hingland shall hear of this," 
and the like, while the boys were making flank movements on 
all sides, well loaded with the rich spoils of the farm-yard. 
I think the number of muskets we picked iip, with the Tower 
stamp on them, did not dispose the general very favorably 
towards Hinglish subjects. 

Our foragers had a great penchant for honey. It was rather 
amusing to witness their encounters with the bees, who spite- 
fully resented their intrusion on their rights. 

At first the men upset the hives, and dragged out the honey, 
while a swarm of the bees flew around, stinging them and 
making them cut up all kinds of capers and gymnastics. 

However, practice makes perfection, and they soon learned 
how to smoke them. Or, if in a hurry, they would snatch up the 
hive on their shoulder, with the mouth backwards, and run off 
with all speed. The bees, wondering what the deuce was the 
matter, would issue out and instinctively fly for their old quar- 
ters, assailing men and horses in their way. 

I have often seen a regular stampede among a squad of 
foragers and bummers, caused by swarms of infuriated bees 
assailing them. 

The bees would stick around the heads and ears of men and 



346 Sherman's march through the south. 

animals. The latter would kick and prance, throwing off their 
riders, and collections of meat and fowl, while the former would 
swear lustily at the bees and mules together, at the same time 
making insane efforts to keep off the bees and urge on the 
refractory mules. 

It was certainly an amusing sight to see perhaps twenty 
mules and bummers kicking up as mad a rumpus as if every 
one of them was demented. 

We had halted at a very nice plantation house near Columbia, 
and the officers sat down on the piazza, while the men com- 
menced raiding on the good things around. Soon, a Babel of 
cackling roosters, grunting hogs, and barking dogs ensued. 

The house seemed to be inhabited by three ladies of doubtful 
age ; the eldest was on the wrong side of forty, while the next 
was close to her, and the youngest was certainly a young lady 
of thirty, in her teens. They were dressed alike, all in black, 
and looked as much alike as possible. They were pale, thin, 
attenuated young ladies, and wonderfidly reticent, so much so 
that I was for a time under the impression that they were all 
dummies. My mind was soon relieved ; for when the helpless 
denizens of the yard set up their useless uproar, the weird 
sisters came out on the piazza in single file, regulated by age, 
and, with hands and eyes raised, began a hymn. They passed 
in at another door, but soon returned. After repeating this 
round twice, they flung themselves on their knees near, and 
burst out in one loud psalm of supplication to the Lord, 
informing him that his servants were now ready to depart this 
life. I know we departed quick enough, bummers and all, for 
this strange incantation, which reminded one of the scene in 
Der Freischutz, had a stronger superstitious influence on the 
bummers than a squad of Hampton's cavalry. 

So much terror had our name and acts inspired, that even 
the negroes were wary ; afraid, in some instances, to trust 
themselves among the men who made this fearful work on the 
country. Wliite table-cloths were suspended from windows, 
with " Have mercy on me ! " for a legend, and the fiery spirit 
of South Carolina was tamed effectually. Occasionally, in 



NEGRO FroELITY. 347 

Georgia, a man could be found who had the courage to say 
that he voted for secession ; but these abject men were afraid 
to own that they lived in a seceded state. 

In most cases, the slaves betrayed their masters, revealing 
their property and joining in its destruction. I have known 
cases, too, where the slaves refused to leave their masters, or 
to betray them, though threatened with death. 

Cruel masters reaped the fruits of their tyranny now, while 
the property of kind ones was in many instances saved by the 
tact and discretion of their slaves. 

The men had surrounded a plantation house, were smashing 
up the furniture, and preparing to fire the house, when an old 
slave, of venerable appearance, came out of his shanty, and 
looking on, said, — 

" I taught de Yanks, Lor' bress dem, were too good to hurt 
dere friends." 

" So we are, old woolly head ; but you don't reckon this here 
fellow was our friend." 

" I speck he was, dough, and de nigger's friend, too." 

" Then why did he join the rebel army, and leave his place 
here?" 

''You see, massa, when dem poor Yanks was running away 
from Columbia, massa says to me, ' Cassar, if you meet any of 
dem, conceal dem here.' So I did, and massa helped me to 
get dem away. Massa had enemies, and when dey heard dis, 
dey come and took massa off and stuck him in de army, and 
den his wife went to her father's, leaving dis nigger to take care 
ob de place." 

" Is all that true, father graybeard? " 

" May dis nigger never see de good Lor' if it is not so." 

" Well, boys," said the leader of the gang, shouldering his 
musket, " I think we have done enough here." And they 
marched off. 

The morning after the burning of Columbia, I was passing 
near a private residence which had been destroyed. Some 
clothes and furniture were piled up in the yard, and near them 



348 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

sat a lady, with a pretty child beside her, and two younger 
ones ui^consciously sleeping on a sofa near. 

The lady appeared much distressed ; her head rested on her 
hands, and her eyes were red from weeping. A likely mulatto 
girl sat near her, watching her mistress, while near them, trim- 
ming a fire, and trying to prepare some food, was a stout negro. 

" Chloe," said the negro, " the fire is good ; come and get 
some coffee for missis." 

" No, Pompey, no ; I can't use any," said the lady. 

" But missis knows young massa and Missa Jane and Emma 
had no supper." 

" That's true, Chloe," said the lady ; " get the poor children 
something." After their poor breakfast, the lady looks at her 
servants, and asks, " Well, Pompey and Chloe, what are you 
going to do ? '* 

" Missis, I remain wid you," said Chloe. 

" And I too ; missis has been good and kind to dis nigger, 
and he is not going to leab her now." 

" But I am so poor, you see, I have nothing ; nothing to eat, 
for you or my children." 

" Missis," said Pompey, standing before her, *' look at dis 
arm ; it's strong. Pompey will work dat arm to de bone 
before missis want, and de good Lord will take care of us." 

The lady bowed her head and wept, and taking a hand of 
each of her sable friends, she said, — 

"Pompey and Chloe, Pll not forget this if I am ever 
restored to wealth ; you are henceforth free." 

On our march we halted at a farm-house, in which was a 
woman and a very fine little boy of about five years. The 
lady, who represented herself a stanch Unionist, expressed great 
respect for our flag, and requested to be allowed to examine it, 
as she had never seen a flag before. Her request was granted, 
and the little boy also appeared highly interested with it. At 
length he turned to his mother, and said, — 

" O, mamma, isn't it very like our flag, that papa had here?" 

This was letting the cat out of the bag. We of course only 
smiled, and the lady blushed. 



PILFERING. 349 

I was riding one day with a Mr. B., of the Christian Com- 
mission. "We stopped at a house, and the lady complained 
bitterly of how the rebel cavalry robbed her of seventy dollars 
in gold. My friend turned to me and said, — 

'' Hell will not be full until JefF Davis and his followers are 
there. Just think you ; to rob this poor woman ! Bad as our 
men are, they would not do that." 

At night we had to sleep on the stoop of a house, with our 
horses tied in front of us. Mr. B. had a very fine overcoat 
tied behind his saddle, which was stolen while we slept. In 
the morning, when he missed it, he turned to me, exclaiming, — 

" Well, after all, hell will not be full until some of our chaps 
get there, too." 

It makes a great difference whose ox is gored. 
30 



350 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

CHEEAW. — CROSSING THE PEDEE. — KILPATRICK'S FIGHT WITH 
WADE HAMPTON.— FAYETTE VILLE.— COMMUNICATION WITH 
THE SEABOARD. 

The right wing had broken up the raih-oad from Columbia 
to Winnsboro', and then turned for Pea's Ferry, the 17th corps 
moving straight on Cheraw by Young's Bridge, and the 15th 
by Teller's and Kelly's Bridge. 

Our march had been somewhat retarded by the heavy falls of 
rain, which flooded the creeks and cut up the roads, so that we 
had to corduroy the most of the way. A person unacquainted 
with the work an army has to do, the length of roads it has to 
corduroy, and bridges to build, would deem it almost fabulous. 
On this campaign alone I think Ave must have made over one 
hundred miles of road, and built several miles of trestle work 
and bridges. This is necessary in a country where the roads 
sink and cave in from the wear of our immense Avagon trains. 

Lynch's Creek detained us two days, it being considerably 
swollen by the freshets. Major General Hazen had to build a 
bridge two hundred yards, and corduroy over three hundred 
yards before the troops could cross. The stream was so wide 
and full of snags that it was impossible to pontoon it. One 
division crossed at Teller's Creek. Black Creek had also to be 
pontooned, as the water extended over one hundred yards 
beyond the bridge. 

Captain Duncan, 15th Illinois, with his company, the 4th 
Ohio independent, and some fifteen men of the signal corps, 
encountered the 7th Carolina cavalry, and had a sharp skir- 
mish with them, in which we had three men, and Lieutenant 
Quinn, chief of General Howard's scouts, badly wounded. 



CHERAW OCCUPIED. 851 

The rebel loss was five killed, including an acting brigadier 
general. 

The 17th corps crossed the creek at Young's Bridge, two 
regiments wading through the water. They also had to bridge 
the creek, and corduroy near a quarter of a mile. Next day 
(28th) they moved within thirteen miles of Cheraw, crossing 
Black Creek at McDonald's, and passing near Sugar Loaf 
Mountain. 

On the 3d they marched on Cheraw. Mower's division, beinor 
in advance, skirmished with the enemy. The rebels burned 
Coit's Bridge, on Thomas's Creek, and disputed the passage for 
some time. Mower opened a few pieces of artillery, and 
pushed his right to Cheraw. The enemy fled over the Great 
Pedee, firing the bridge, which they had covered with rosin, 
after them. General Mower took possession of the town, 
establishing a brigade as provost guard. 

Our mounted infantry, 9th Illinois, and 29th Missouri, with 
some squads of foragers, made a dash on Society Hill, driving 
the rebels from the town, and succeeded in burning a train of 
cars and the railroad depot, and also in tearing up a mile of 
the track. 

Cheraw is near the northern line of the state, and about one 
hundred and fifty miles from Charleston, and ninety from 
Columbia. It is a pleasant-looking town, with near two thou- 
sand inhabitants. It is on the Great Pedee River, and at the 
head of the steam navigation. Here we captured twenty-five 
pieces of artillery, among which was a Blakely thirty-two 
pounder gun, with the inscription, " To the Sovereign State of 
Carolina. By a citizen abroad. March 4, 1861." 

We also captured twelve cars, one locomotive, eighteen tons 
of powder, several thousand bales of cotton, and a large supply 
of stores. In the hospitals we found about two hundred pris- 
oners. A few houses were on fire when we entered the tow^n. 
We burned the railroad depot and buildings. 

Little of importance had varied the march of the left wing. 
Davis halted and parked his wagons at Youngsville while tear- 
ing up the line of railroad from Columbia to Blackstock, a 



352 Sherman's march through the south. 

distance of fifty-four miles. The 14th corps was also delayed 
at Kiirgsbury Ferry for three days, their pontoon boats, which 
they had laid across the Catawba, or Wateree, having been 
carried away by the flood. For two or three days the swollen 
state of the Catawba prevented the 14th from crossing, and the 
right wing was cut in two. The delay thus caused to one corps 
of course extended to the whole army. Sherman at last got 
impatient, and on March 1st ordered Slocum to send that por- 
tion of the 14th corps which was cut off to destroy the wagons, 
spike the cannon, shoot the mules and horses, ferry the men 
across on rafts, and come on. The army was now twenty 
miles in advance. General Slocum rode back to the Catawba 
at night, unattended, save by a couple of orderlies, and through 
a country where rebels abounded, and consulted with Jeff C. 
Davis. That general begged for a delay in the execution of 
the order. Generals Slocum, Davis, " Jimmy" Morgan, Baird, 
and Buell went vigorously at the work of saving the 14th corps, 
and succeeded in getting them across without loss of material. 
Then, by forced marches, when the endurance of the men was 
most taxed, they came up and took their place again in the 
front line, facing towards Virginia. 

The whole army was now partly concentrated, with the 
intention of giving the impression to the enemy that Charlotte 
was our objective point. 

The left wing passed near Hanging Rock on the 2d of March. 

This is among the most celebrated points on our line of 
march, as it bears a revolutionary interest, being the theatre of 
a battle between Sumter and the British and North Carolina 
tories, in which the Prince of Wales regiment was nearly anni- 
hilated. Mills, in his " Statistics," says, — 

" The Hanging Rock is a real curiosity, as are many other 
rocks near it. They form an irregular group, on the east side 
of the creek, and are fantastically piled, one upon another, 
along the declivity of a steep hill. That called Hanging Rock, 
in particular, is a single mass about twenty feet in diameter, 
which is, on the side nearest to the creek, scooped into an arch, 
forming overhead a figure of an exceedingly regular kind, 



SINGULAR ROCKS. 353 

resembling the segment of a concave sphere, or rather parabo- 
loid. This arch is capable of sheltering several persons ; and, 
indeed, it seems fires have been kindled there, supposed by 
hunters, for the edge of the arch appears tinged with smoke. 
It is a singularly interesting object, but yet of the minor kind. 
Another of these huge stones rests upon a larger rock, sup- 
ported at only two points, so that one is apt, at first view, to 
suppose that a small force would hurl it from its base down the 
steep hill, into the creek below. There are many other similar 
rocks here, but these two are among the most remarkable. As 
I descended the hill, and viewed this latter rock, it forcibly 
gave me the idea of a ship resting upon the summit of a cliff, the 
form of the side and stern being aptly represented to the fancy. 

The formation of these rocks is also singularly curious. 
They are not formed of lamina or strata in planes, as other 
rocks are, but seem to be composed, more generally, of strata 
in concentric circles. I saw several masses split off by the 
force of frost. Some, of immense size, had fractures so even 
that one might suppose they had been sawn through, yet evi- 
dently without any seam. 

The substance composing these masses is also curious. The 
principal matter consists of small, flinty stones, of all sizes, 
from one eighth to one half of an inch, irregularly hexagonal, 
mixed with very small, black, glass-like, brilliant particles, 
about a tenth of an inch in diameter, the whole cemented 
tqgether by another substance. 

The rock is broken without difficulty, so that the agglom- 
erated particles are easily separated. One cannot resist the 
belief that these rocks were formed in a very different state of 
the world from the present. These rocks abound in this dis- 
trict. The earth, even in the valleys, rests wholly on rock, 
though sometimes it is twenty or thirty feet deep. The springs 
are abundant. The water gushing through the fissures in 
these rocks renders wells unnecessary. 

The Flat Rock is close to the battle-ground of Hanging 
Rock. It is a huge mass, almost level, composed of a kind of 
very hard gravel, cemented together. On the surface are sev- 
30* 



354 Sherman's march through the south. 

eral circular pits or cisterns, a few inches deep, which the 
people here suppose Avere dug out by the Indians. (Just such 
tales they tell in the West Indies of the pirate's rocky Punch 
Bowl.) I stepped across the rock, and found it five hundred 
feet in diameter. The naked part is about four acres, and the 
whole extent about twenty. I saw two other rocks of this 
kind, but on a smaller scale. Indeed, the greater part of the 
country seems to have such a basis. Immediately before com- 
ing to the creek you pass through the battle-ground. The 
country was then all in woods. The conflict began on the hill, 
and was continued in the vale. 

Four miles from Gaston's Tavern is the Anvil Rock, so 
named from its shape. It stands, a curiosity of the tiny kind, 
close by the road, about ten feet high, eight feet wide at top, 
and perhaps five at the bottom, the sides irregularly worn 
away by frosts and rains. It is composed of the same kind of 
aggregated particles as the Hanging Rock, and all the numerous 
flat rocks that lie scattered through this country. 

One mile from Hangini? Rock Creek there is a mineral 
spring, four hundred yards from the road. It is very transpar- 
ent, bubbling up through clear sand, and is intensely cold. It 
deposits about the well and the stream a great deal of the yel- 
low matter common to chalybeate springs. The taste and 
smell are sensible. It acts as a gentle aperient, and is strongly 
diuretic. A gentle descent leads to the spring. It is delightfully 
shaded by trees, and has a fall for a plunging or shower bath." 

The Pedee River was deep and about one hundred and forty 
yards in width at this point, with high shelving banks, and 
therefore took some time to pontoon. The 17th corps crossed 
on the evening of the 4th and morning of the 5th, and was fol- 
lowed in the evening and next morning by the 15th corps. The 
20th corps also crossed at the same point, while the 14th corps 
and cavalry crossed some twelve miles farther up the river, at 
Sneidsboro'. 

In our line of march for Fayetteville, after crossing the Great 
Pedee, the 17th corps branched off towards Gallipolis, the 15th 
moving by Laurensburg, and crossing Lumber River at Gilchrist 



MARCH ON FAYETTE7ILLE. 355 

Bridge to Rock Fish Creek. The 17tli corps had moved along 
the plank road, both corps crossing at Davis's Bridge. 

South and North Carolina are separated by an imaginary 
line. Where we marched, the only object to inform us that we 
had got into North Carolina was a sign-board with the learned 
inscription, " fift 3 mils to Fatville," which, I suppose, meant 
fifty-three miles to Fayetteville. The schoolmaster had likely 
been lately abroad, when this was written. The country is 
wretchedly poor — a regular pine region. The troops did not 
burn or destroy property as they did in South Carolina. 

The roads in North Carolina were firm and sandy, for the 
most part, through these endless gloomy forests. 

The trains were able to move in the centres, with a column 
of troops on each side, thus expediting our march. 

The slaves around Laurensburg, at the opening of our cam- 
paign through Carolina, had organized a party with the inten- 
tion of forcing their way to our lines. The plot was discovered, 
and at one of their meetings they were surrounded by parties 
of the home guards, captured, and after a kind of mock trial, 
twenty-five were hung. Captain Robert Johnson, Colonel Rob- 
ert Dacker, and Captain Tate, of Richmond County, were the 
leaders in this barbarous business. 

We moved rapidly, but Avith caution, on Fayetteville, for we 
knew the enemy were concentrating there. Cheatham's corps 
from the west, and the garrison of Augusta, had reenforced 
Beauregard ; and Hardee, having evacuated Charleston, had 
crossed Cape Fear River, all endeavoring to form a junction 
with Johnston and Hoke in North Carolina. Sherman knew 
all this ; he also knew that a battle was inevitable, and moved 
with prudence. 

Kilpatrick's encounter with Wade Hampton was the only 
military event of any importance that occurred between Cheraw 
and Fayetteville. This was one of the most stubbornly contested 
cavalry battles of the campaign. After being surprised, two 
brigades of our cavalry held and finally drove from their camp 
in confusion Wade Hampton's entire cavalry corps. "It was 
discovered, on the morning of the 9th, that Hardee was making 



356 Sherman's march through the south. 

forced marches to reach Fayetteville, in advance of the infantry 
of Sherman. General Kilpatrick at once put his column in 
motion to strike Hardee in flank, or to intercept Wade Hamp- 
ton, who was following in the rear with his cavalry. General 
Kilpatrick reached Coleman's Grove just after Hardee's rear 
had passed. Hampton was a few hours behind. 

Our cavalry had not all come up, owing to the bad state of 
the roads ; Colonel Spencer's brigade and Colonel Way's com- 
mand were at once placed in position, and waited the attack of 
the rebel cavalry. Just before daybreak on the morning of the 
10th, and before the brigades of General Atkins and Colonel 
Jordon had arrived, Hampton came in front of Kilpatrick's 
position, and massed his troops, consisting of three divisions, 
under Hume, Allen, and Butler. The attack was made in three 
columns, — Wheeler led the right, Hampton the centre, and But- 
ler the left, — and was perfectly irresistible. Kilpatrick's first line, 
under Lieutenant Colonel Way, was actually ridden over, head- 
quarters and artillery captured, and, at one time, the entire 
camp, including the whole staff, and Colonel Spencer, command- 
ing the 3d brigade, were in the enemy's possession. But Gen- 
eral Kilpatrick made his escape, joined the brigade of Colonel 
Spencer, which was falling back on foot, stubbornly disputing 
every inch of ground. A large portion of the enemy halted in 
and about the camp for a moment to plunder. This luas fatal 
to them. Kilpatrick's cavalrymen rallied under the. leadership 
of their of&cers, retook the hills upon the left, and then, with 
one wild shout, swept down upon the rebels, who were swarm- 
ing about the captured artillery and Kilpatrick's former head- 
quarters. In a short time the artillery was in their possession, 
and turned upon the enemy. At this moment the general's red 
battle-flag, recaptured from the enemy, floated out in the presence 
of friend and foe. This animated the troops on our side, and 
though hard pressed and deprived of the animating presence 
of their general, they charged and repulsed the enemy, driving 
him from the field, thus converting a surprise into a victory. 
Our loss did not much exceed one hundred killed and wounded. 
The enemy left upon the field a number of officers and seventy- 



FAYETTEVILLE. 357 

six soldiers dead, besides many wounded, and at the lowest 
estimate could not have lost less than three hundred killed and 
wounded. The whole affair was indeed most brilliant, and re- 
flects great credit upon the cavalry, and adds yet another laurel 
to the many won by them since leaving the hills of Georgia. 

Fayetteville is a town of some four thousand inhabitants. 
The first to come into the town was Captain Duncan, command- 
ing the scouts and mounted men of the army of the Tennessee. 
He was repulsed by Hampton's cavalry, and himself taken pris- 
oner. His party was reenforced by the foragers, and again 
attacked the place, taking it. General Giles A. Smith's 4th 
division, 17th army corps, soon came up, also the head of Gen- 
eral Slocum's column, and hoisted the flag over the market- 
house. The mayor surrendered the town to Colonel William 
E. Strong, of General Howard's staff, then to General Slocum, 
who had just come up. As the rebels were retreating over the 
river, they opened two guns on the town, and then fired the 
bridge, which was covered with rosin. 

Fayetteville is a poor, straggling kind of a town, with few 
buildings of any importance. It is at the head of the Cape 
Fear River navigation, which gives it some importance. It 
was a place of considerable interest during the revolutionary 
war, as also being for several years the residence of the cele- 
brated Flora Macdonald, whose name has been so poetically 
associated with the outlawry and sufferings of the last hope of 
the Stuarts — the exiled Charles Edward. With a woman's 
tact and tenderness the faithful maiden shielded the unfortunate 
Pretender. Though the prince's last words to her were, 
" Gentle, faithful maiden, I hope we will meet again in the 
Palace Royal," never had the exiled monarch a chance of dis- 
playing his gratitude. In 1775 she and her husband sailed to 
America, settling in Fayetteville. The tottering ruins of the 
house are yet to be seen where they resided. The troubles of 
the revolution soon followed. 

The chief of the clan Macdonald having accepted the com- 
mission of general from George III., his kinsman in North 
Carolina joined his standard as captain, but was captured in 



358 Sherman's march through the south. 

1776^ near Cross Creek, and detained a prisoner for some time. 
After his release, broken down in hopes and fortune, he and 
Flora returned to Scotland, where she died in 1790. Her 
shroud was made of the sheets in which Charles Edward had 
slept at Kingsburg. 

Foote remarks that Massachusetts has had her Lady Ara- 
bella, Virginia her Pocahontas, and North Carolina her Flora 
Macdonald. 

Fayetteville is about one hundred and twenty miles from Wil- 
mington by the river. Though the river banks were known to 
be occupied by the enemy, a noble little tug and her gallant 
crew ran the gantlet. They were fired on twice by the enemy, 
but fortunately no lives were lost. They were received with 
cheers by our men on her arrival. The sail back to Wilming- 
ton, which I accompanied, was extremely interesting. We had 
a mail boat in convoy, with two guns ; and though we saw the 
abandoned picket fires of the enemy along the river, we were 
not molested. The night was lovely, with a full moon shedding 
its rays over the sparkling waters as we shot along the silvery 
stream. All were cheerful, for it was like waking to a new life, 
after being so long shut from the outer world. 

Never before has an army accomplished so much with such 
little sacrifice of either life or property. 

We had been about forty-five days out since we left Savan- 
nah. Our march had been one continued success. Sherman's 
capital manoeuvres completely split up the rebel army, breaking 
them into isolated bodies, thus destroying their power. 

We had been somewhat retarded by the heavy falls of rain, 
which flooded the creeks and swamps, and cut up the roads so 
that we had to corduroy over a hundred miles of road, and build 
several miles of trestle work and bridges. 

Besides compelling the enemy to evacuate Charleston, we 
destroyed Columbia, Orangeburg, and several other places ; 
also over fifty miles of their chief lines of railroad, and thou- 
sands of bales of cotton. 

At Columbia we captured forty-three cannon, two hundred 
thousand cartridges, ten tons of powder, nine thousand rounds 



RESULTS OF THE CAMPAIGN. 359 

of fixed ammunition, about ten thousand muskets, over one 
hundred government presses, besides an immense amount of 
public property, locomotives, rolling stock, and other kinds of 
government stores, too numerous to mention. 

At Cheraw we took twenty-five cannon, eight caissons, and 
two travelling forges. 

At Fayetteville we took seventeen cannon, besides a large 
quantity of government stuff of various -kinds in the arsenal 
and elsewhere. 

This makes eighty-five cannon, — one third of which were 
field-pieces, — wdth carriages, caissons, and all complete. We 
captured about twenty-five thousand animals on our line of 
march. We gave food and transportation to about fifteen 
thousand colored refugees, thus depriving the Confederacy of 
colored soldiers and slaves. We also had about four thousand 
white refugees, all of whom were well cared for, and will be 
sent north to whatever destination they choose. 

We operated over the following districts or counties : In 
South Carolina — Beaufort, Barnwell, Orangeburg, Lexington, 
Richland, Kershaw, Fairfield, Chester, Lancaster, Sumter, Dar- 
lington, Chesterfield, Malbourg ; in North Carolina — Meck- 
lenburg, Anson, Richland, Union, Robeson, Cumberland, and 
Moore. 

We marched, on the whole, four hundred and fifty miles, 
our wrings extending some thirty-five or forty miles. This 
would give an area of over fifteen thousand square miles which 
we operated over, all the time supporting men and animals on 
the country. Indeed, the loss we inflicted on the enemy is 
incalculable, and all at a trifling sacrifice of life. 

The first boat to open communication was the tug Davidson, 
Captain Robert Stephenson, and Captain Ainsworth, of Wil- 
mington. She had on board a guard of seventy-five men of the 
13th Indiana, armed with seven-shooters, under command of 
Captain Theodore Reiple, Lieutenants Thomas C. Curley and 
Richard Jones. Too much praise cannot be given to the 
brave oflacers and men of this boat, who volunteered on this 
dangerous service. 



360 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE BATTLES OF AVERYSBOKO' AND BENTONVILLE. — NEWS OF 
LEE'S SURRENDER. — INTERVIEW BETWEEN SHERMAN AND 
JOHNSTON. — HOMEWARD BOUND. 

General Sherman suspected that Hardee, in retreating 
from Fayetteville, would take up position in a narrow neck 
between Cape Fear and South Rivers, in hopes to check him 
until Johnston's army could fully concentrate. Sherman had 
instructed General Schofield, at Newbern, and General Terry, 
at Wilmington, that on Wednesday, the 15th, he would move for 
Goldsboro', and ordering them to march straight for the same 
place. Terry and Schofield at once commenced their march, 
the latter encountering the enemy at Kinston, and other points 
on the way. 

General Kilpatrick had orders to move up the plank road to 
Averysboro'. 

General Sherman moved from Fayetteville, on the morning 
of the 14th, for Goldsboro' and a permanent base. Johnston's 
army left Fayetteville on roads leading to Raleigh, up the Cape 
Fear River, and it was confidently expected that he would 
attempt to prevent our junction with Schofield by an attack on 
our left as we marched along the Goldsboro' road. To prepare 
for this. General Slocum's wing of the army was directed to 
move light — that is, without trains — on the left flank. Gea- 
ry's division, of the 20th corps, and Baird's, of the 14th, were 
in charge of the trains of both corps, on an interior road. Gen- 
eral Howard's wing moving on roads farther south and nearer 
the coast in the same order. Jackson's and Wood's divisions, 
of the 20th corps, Carlin's and Morgan's, of the 14th, with Kil- 
patrick's cavalry, followed Johnston up the plank road, as if 



ARMY MOVEMENTS. 361 

moving on the capital of the state. Kilpatrick found the enemy 
five miles from Fayetteville, and skirmished with him, pressing 
his rear guard to a point on the road near Kyles's Landing, 
where he was brought to a stand on the night of the 15th. 
During the pursuit, Captain Winthrop, of Kilpatrick's scouts, 
had picked out Colonel Alfred Rhett, 1st South Carolina heavy 
artillery, from the front of his command, and established pretty 
conclusively the fact that a large force of rebels was in front. 
General Kilpatrick sent back for a brigade of infantry to sup- 
port him, and Colonel Hawley, of the 1st division, 20th corps, 
was sent up. 

On the morning of the 15th, Kilpatrick and Hawley attacked 
the enemy's cavalry, drove them back half a mile or more, and 
developed a line of works, with artillery in position. The 
whole of the 20th corps was brought up and put in position 
against this line at 9 o'clock on the forenoon of the 15th, Kil- 
patrick fighting on the flanks. Dustan's and Case's brigades, 
of Ward's division, 2d corps, carried the works at 11 o'clock, 
capturing three pieces of artillery. About three hundred prison- 
ers were captured along the line. The enemy fell back to their 
main line of works, extending from Black River on their left to 
Cape Fear River on their right, covering the roads to Raleigh, 
Smithfield, and Goldsboro'. 

On the 16th Carlin and Morgan were brought up, and an 
attempt made to force the rebels back and uncover the Golds- 
boro* road. Severe fighting took place during the day without 
any satisfactory results. The enemy held his position, although 
sufiering heavy loss. His line overlapped ours on the right, 
and everything indicated the presence of Hardee's whole army 
corps. He evacuated the line during the night of the 16th, 
however, and fell back to Averysboro', pursued by "Ward's 
division of the 20th corps. His dead and wounded were 
left on the field, and abandoned along the road. General 
Ward pressed up to Averysboro', holding the plank road in our 
front, while the balance of the command moved oflT to the right, 
across Black River, on the Goldsboro' road, now uncovered. 
Our loss in the fight on Black River was four hundred and 
31 



862 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

forty-si^ in the 20th corps, one hundred and eight in the 14th, 
one hundred and seventeen in Kilpatrick's command. The 
number of rebels buried on the field and paroled wounded 
was three hundred and twenty-seven. This was exclusive 
of those they carried off and the unliurt prisoners we cap- 
tured. 

Nothing, save an occasional skirmish with a small body of 
cavalry, occurred till we reached three miles south of Benton- 
ville, twelve from Cox's Bridge (on the Neuse), on the morning 
of the 20th. As at Black River, the enemy showed nothing at 
first but a small force of cavalry, of DibbrelFs or Talbot's com- 
mand, which were easily driven back by the skirmishers of 
Carlin's division in advance. Coming to a point where the 
skirmish line could go no farther, and the enemy fired from 
a piece of artillery, General Carlin formed Buell's and Ilobart's 
brigades in line to drive the troublesome cavalry away. Gen- 
erals Buell and Hobart moved to the left of the road on the 
enemy's flank, about a mile in advance of Morgan's division, 
when they discovered the enemy's infantry in a strong line of 
works, and in great numbers. Although it seemed incredible 
that the rebels could be in any great force here. General Slocum 
made preparations for a fight. Morgan's division was formed, 
and word sent back for the two divisions of the 20th corps to 
hurry forward. The enemy's line extended far beyond Mor- 
gan's right, and Coggswell's brigade, of the 1st division, 28th 
corps, was put in there when it came up. Still the rebel left 
could not be found. 

At noon the enemy left his works and advanced on Jeff C. 
Davis's two divisions. Buell and Hobart were overwhelmed, 
and pressed back through the woods more than a mile and 
a half. Vandeveer's, Mitchell's, Ferring's, and Coggswell's 
brigades, on the right, fought stubbornly and desperately, and 
lost but little ground. There was a temporary confusion, and 
a rout was imminent. Five batteries of artillery were massed 
at a point where a hospital had been established in the morning, 
the balance of Jackson's division, 20th corps, put in on the left, 
and a new line formed. During the day five grand charges 



PREPARATIONS FOR A BATTLE. 363 

were made by the enemy massed, but each was repulsed. 
They succeeded in capturing three guns of the 19th Indiana 
battery, but only two were taken off. There was desperate 
fighting all day, the musketry fire being as heavy as our men 
have heard in a long time. Although they gained considerable 
ground on the left during the day, the rebels retired to their 
main line when night fell, leaving the greater part of their dead 
and wounded on the field. 

Without being disposed to exaggerate in the least, we figure 
their loss at twenty-five hundred killed and wounded. Seven 
hundred were captured. The 26th Tennessee regiment Avas 
captured entire, colors and all, with a large part of the 12th 
Louisiana. Our loss was quite severe. Nearly eight hundred 
cases had been treated in the hospitals. The proportion of 
our killed to the enemy's killed found lying on the battle- 
field was as one to four by actual count. During the temporary 
confusion caused by the furious burst on Carlin's division, we 
lost about two hundred and fifty prisoners. 

Rebels were captured from every one of the commands 
known to be in the south and west. Hoke, Cheatham, Stephen 
D. Lee, Wade Hampton, D. H. Hill, Wheeler, Butler, Joe 
Johnston, Hardee, and Bragg were on the field in person, for 
captives assert they rode around the lines in the morning, 
cheered by the troops. General Johnston thought that he would 
destroy Slocum's column before Sherman could get up to sup- 
port it with the right wing. A forced march from Smithfield 
enabled him to strike him with forty thousand men. The thing 
looked bad at one time ; yet as soon as the troops saw what 
was required of them, affairs brightened. 

This important battle, in which Johnston commanded in per- 
son, and in which the combined forces of Hoke, Hardee, and 
Cheatham were hurled against the left wing in six consecutive 
charges, was solely conducted by General Slocum, and to him 
General Sherman assigns the credit of so ably sustaining the 
unequal contest. 

On the 21st of March General Schofield entered Goldsboro*, 
and General Terry had possession of the Neuse River, at Cox's 



364 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

Bridge, and pontooned the river, so that the three armies were 
in actual connection, and Goldsboro', Sherman's objective point, 
fully secured. 

The different armies now lay around Goldsboro', with the 
intention of getting supplies. 

Sherman's real intention, as soon as his army was ready to 
march, was to move northward, feigning on Raleigh, and strik- 
ing for Burksville, and wedging in between Johnston and Lee. 
When he heard of the battles around Petersburg, he changed 
his mind, and resolved to strike right for Johnston. At this 
time Johnston had his army well in hand about Smithfield, 
commanding the Goldsboro' and Raleigh Railroad. 

At daybreak, on the 10th of April, Sherman's army was 
again in motion. Hampton's cavalry opposed our advance, but 
were scarcely able to check our march. 

Johnston rapidly retreated across the Neuse River, having 
burned the bridge at Smithfield, in his rear. 

At Smithfield we learned that Lee's army had surrendered ; 
and the joy of officers and men was unbounded, and displayed 
in exuberant excesses. 

Sherman ordered the trains to be dropped, and pursued John- 
ston, and reached Raleigh on the 13th ; Johnston, all the time, 
rapidly falling back towards Greensboro'. 

A rainstorm now set in, and the infantry had to halt at 
Raleigh. Kilpatrick, though, dashed on with his cavalry to 
Durham Station. Major General Stoneman was at Slatesville, 
thus commanding Johnston's only line of retreat by Salesburg 
and Charlotte. 

On the 14th General Johnston had written, under flag of 
truce, to General Sherman, requesting an interview about terms 
of surrender. Sherman agreed to meet Johnston on the 17th. 

The conference was held at a Mr. Rennet's house, at Durham 
Station, on the North Carolina Railroad, and eighteen miles 
from Raleigh. 

This was rather a remarkable meeting. Sherman and party 
arrived first, and were soon after joined by Johnston and party. 

The meeting at first was courteous, but constrained ; after a 



RETREAT OF JOHNSTON. 865 

little friendlier feeling prevailed, and the different battles, pol- 
itics, the state of the country, and other subjects, were freely 
discussed. 

General Sherman smoked his cigar, had his hands stuffed in 
his pockets, as usual — on the whole, looked at ease, and per- 
fectly master of the situation. 

Johnston, on the other hand, was taciturn, and looked hag- 
gard and care-worn, but still maintained the dignity of the 
soldier and the gentleman, as he certainly is. 

"Wade Hampton looked savage enough to eat little Kil, with 
a grain of salt ; while the latter returned his looks most de- 
fiantly. 

It was evident that they would break out. At length Hamp- 
ton taunted Kil about his recent surprise of his camp. 

Kil replied that he had to leave faster than he came, without 
being able to carry off a color. 

Words grew hot, — both parties expressing a desire that the 
issue of the war would be left between their cavalry. The 
affair was becoming too personal ; so Sherman and Johnston 
had to interfere. 

After this the conference Avent on pleasantly enough. 

It is not my province here to enter into this subject, or 
question Sherman's policy regarding the terms he had offered 
Johnston. I think his own letters make his intentions evident. 
It is but just to state that a majority of the corps commanders 
approved of his policy. 

He also had just learned the general satisfaction Lee's sur- 
render had given throughout the north, and he had a Richmond 
paper, published by permission of the Federal authorities, in 
which was a proclamation of General Weitzel, as military 
governor of Richmond, convening the Virginia rebel legislature 
for the purpose of taking measures to restore the state to the 
Union. 

He believed that a magnanimous spirit of forbearance per- 
vaded the councils of the north. 

All these things conspired to make him lenient ; but if he 
erred, it was on mercy's side ; and his military services have 
31* 



366 Sherman's march through the south. 

been too glorious for a people whom he has done so much to 
save from anarchy and ruin not to forgive an error of political 
judgment. 

Homeward Bound, 

Sherman's army marched through Richmond on their way 
home, and over the bloody battle-fields on which their brother 
army of the Potomac so long and so nobly contended, and con- 
centrated around Washington and Alexandria. 

On the 23d of May the grand army of the Potomac, number- 
ing about seventy-five thousand troops, passed in review through 
Washington before the president and dignitaries not only of this 
country, but of foreign nations. 

The greatest anxiety prevailed to see Sherman's army ; every 
door, w^indow, and house roof were crowded with eager specta- 
tors. Arches of flowers festooned the streets and windows. 

About 10 o'clock, Sherman, and staff, and generals appeared 
at the head of the column. The air echoed with cheers and 
shouts as the worn veterans marched up Pennsylvania Avenue, 
their bands playing, and their shattered and torn banners float- 
ing on the breeze. It was a glorious sight and a noble wel- 
come — a country rejoicing at the return of its heroes of a 
hundred battles. 

The streets were strewn with flowers ; garlands were woven 
around the horses' necks, and bouquets of the most exquisite 
kind presented to the general, officers, and even privates. As 
they reached the stand occupied by the president and the elite 
of other nations, and decked with the banners of their different 
battle-fields, all rose, and in wild and grateful acclamations 
welcomed our heroes home. 



APPENDIX 



I. 

SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF GENERAL SHERMAN. 

The following sketch of Major General William Tecumseh 
Sherman is taken from the New York Herald of December 12, 
1864 : — 

The prominence of this officer before the country very naturally 
invites a desire to know something of his history. Every one remem- 
bers his conduct at Shiloh, at Vicksburg, at Chattanooga, and the 
abilities displayed in his great campaign in Georgia. We now merely 
wish to connect these and the earlier portions of his life in consecutive 
biography. 

William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on the 8th 
day of February, 1820. His father was the Hon. Charles E-. Sherman, 
one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and he is brother of 
the Hon. John Sherman, United States Senator from Ohio. As a child 
young Sherman was educated in the family of the Hon. Thomas Ewing. 
At the age of sixteen he entered the United States Military Academy 
at West Point, and graduated June 30, 1840, class rank six. 

On the 1st of July, 1840, he was promoted to second lieutenant of 
the 3d United States artillery. He served in Florida during the winter 
of 1840 and 1841. November 1, 1841, he was promoted to first lieu- 
tenant. Soon after he was stationed at Fort Moultrie, near Charleston, 
South Carolina. In 1846 he was engaged in active service in California, 
and held the position of acting Assistant Adjutant General of the 10th 
military department until 1847. May 30, 1848, he was breveted cap- 
tain " for meritorious services in California during the Mexican war.'* 

(367) 



368 Sherman's march through the south. 

In September, 1850, he received the staff appointment of commissary 
of subsistence, with the rank of captain. In 1853 he resigned his 
commission in the army, and took charge of the banking-house of 
Lucas, Turner, & Co., at San Francisco. In 1860 he was the president 
of the State MiHtary Academy of Louisiana, and remained in that 
position until the outbreak of the present war. 

He had carefully watched the development of the portentous events 
of the winter of 1860 and 1861, and even before the first shot on 
Sumter sounded the summons to arms felt confident of the impossibil- 
ity of avoiding an open rupture between the two sections of the coun- 
try. True to the old flag, he addressed a letter of resignation to the 
authorities of the institution. The letter is so characteristic of the man 
that we embody it in full : — 

January 18, 18C1. 
Governor Thomas O. Moore, Baton Rouge, La. : — 

Sir : As I occupy a quasi military position under this state, I deem 
it proper to acquaint you that I accepted such position when Louisiana 
was a state in the Union, and when the motto of the seminary was in- 
serted in marble over the main door — "By the liberality of the general 
government of the United States — the Union. Esto perpetuaJ' 

Recent events foreshadow a great change, and it becomes all men to 
choose. If Louisiana withdraws from the Federal Union, I prefer to 
maintain my allegiance to the old constitution as long as a fragment 
of it survives, and my longer stay here would be wrong in every sense 
of the word. In that event I beg you will send or appoint some author- 
ized agent to take charge of the arms and munitions of war here belong- 
ing to the state, or direct me what disposition should be made of them. 

And furthermore^ as president of the Board of Supervisors, I beg 
you to take immediate steps to relieve me as superintendent the 
moment the state determines to secede ; for on no earthly account will 
I do any act or think any thought hostile to or in defiance of the old 
government of the United States. 

With great respect, &c., 

W. T. Sherman. 

His resignation was accepted, and he removed to St. Louis. During 
that season of dreadful suspense intervening the inauguration of the 
new president and the bombardment of Fort Sumter, Captain Sherman 
was in Washington. He conversed freely with persons of all positions 
and views, and was surprised to see the indifierence exhibited upon 
the great question of the day. A personal friend thus narrates the 
captain's views at that time : — 

" He was astonished at the apparent ignorance and incredulity of the 
government in regard to the real condition of the Southern States. 
He declared that the men in authority were sleeping on a volcano, 



APPENDIX. 8C9 

which would surely burst upon them unprepared. Filled with this idea, 
he addressed a letter to the secretary of war, stating that as he was 
educated at the expense of the United States, and owed everything to 
his country, he had come to tender his military services. He warned 
Mr. Cameron, in earnest language, that war was imminent, and that 
we were not prepared. He also called upon the president, and, in like 
manner, stated his views and tendered his services. The president 
jocularly repHed, *We shall not need many men like you; the whole 
affair will soon blow over.' He was then urged by his friends to go to 
Ohio, and take care of the organization of three months' regiments. 
This he declined, as he did not believe in such trifling expedients. 
He declared it would be as wise to undertake to extinguish the flames 
of a burning building with a squirt gun as to put down the rebellion 
with three months' troops. His plan was to organize for a gigantic war, 
to call out the whole military power of the country at once, and, by the 
exercise of irresistible force, to crush the rebellion in its incipiency." 

On the increase of the regular army by the addition of a number of 
new regiments. Captain Sherman was promoted to the colonelcy of the 
13th regular inflmtry, dated May 14, 1861. In the first battle of Bull 
Run, July 21, Colonel Sherman commanded the 3d brigade, 1st divis- 
ion, Brigadier General Daniel Tyler commanding (McDowell's army), 
and behaved with marked gallantry. After the battle lie was appointed, 
at the extra session of Congress, a brigadier general of volunteers, to 
date from May 17, 1861, and was ordered to the department of Ken- 
tucky, and was second in command to General Robert Anderson. Soon 
after his arrival in the department. General Sherman was ordered to 
occupy Muldraugh's Hill, Kentucky, — an important point south of the 
Rolling Fork, or Salt River, — with seven thousand men, made up of 
volunteers and Kentucky home guards. Upon reaching his destination 
his home guards left him, and troops designed for him were detached 
on other expeditions. In the end he found himself with less than five 
thousand men arrayed against Buckner's entire rebel force of more than 
twenty-five thousand men. In October General Sherman succeeded 
General Anderson in command of the department then known as the 
department of the Cumberland. In November he addressed General 
McClellan upon the strength and perilous situation of his command, 
concluding with the remark, *' Our forces are too small to do good, 
and too large to be sacrificed." 

General McClellan asked, " How long could McCook keep Buckner 
out of Louisville, holding the railroad, with power to destroy it inch 
by inch ? " 



^4fe. 



370 Sherman's march through the south. 

The unsatisfactory nature of this reply, and the circumstances of the 
situation, -were anything but agreeable, and any one else but Sherman 
would have abandoned the positions held by the troops, or resigned his 
command. By skilfully manoeuvring his troops he managed to hold his 
ground. 

About this time an incident occurred which should be narrated. I 
quote the words of Lieutenant Colonel Bowman : — 

" General Sherman had had an interview with Secretary Cameron, 
in presence of Adjutant General Thomas, at Lexington, Kentucky, and 
fully explained to him the situation of his command, and also of the 
armies opposed to him, and, on being asked what force was necessary 
for a successful forward movement in his department, answered, * Two 
hundred thousand men.' By the 1st of November Adjutant General 
Thomas's official report of this conversation, in all its details, was pub- 
lished in most of the newspapers of the country, giving the enemy full 
knoivledge of many important facts relating to General Sherman's 
department. He was too weak to defend our lines, and the enemy 
knew it. He had no hope of reenforcement, and, withal, was evidently 
in discredit with the war department, as being too apprehensive of 
the power, strength, and resources of the enem5% He therefore felt he 
could not successfully conduct the campaign, and asked to be relieved. 
He was succeeded by General Buell, who was at once reenforced, and 
enabled to hold his defensive position, until Grant, in the following 
spring, should advance down the Mississippi and up the Cumberland. 
General Sherman was now set down as * crazy,' and quietly retired to 
the command of Benton Barracks, near St. Louis. The evidence of 
his insanity was his answer to the secretary of war, — that to make a 
successful advance against the enemy, then strongly posted at all stra- 
tegic points, from Mississippi to Cumberland Gap, would require an 
army two hundred thousand strong. The answer was the inspiration, 
or the judgment, of a military genius ; but to the mind of Mr. Secre- 
tary Cameron it was the prophecy of a false wizard." 

In the early part of the year 1862, General Sherman was again called 
to the field, and assigned to the command of the district of Cairo. In 
February his headquarters were at Paducah, Kentucky ; and the general 
rendered invaluable service in forwarding troops and supplies to Gen- 
eral Grant in his operations on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. 
After the capitulation of Fort Donelson, General Sherman was assigned 
to the command of the oth division, army of the Tennessee, Major Gen- 
eral U. S. Grant commanding. At Shiloh Sherman first displayed to 
the army and the country that hidden merit which before then was only 



APPENDIX. 371 

exhibited to meet the ridicule of ignorant men. We will permit his 
fellow-officers to speak of him there. After the battle a cavalry officer 
remarked, — 

" Having occasion to report personally to General Sherman, about 
noon of the first day of Shiloh, I found him dismounted, his arm in a 
sling, his hand bleeding, his horse dead, himself covered with dust, his 
face besmeared with powder and blood. He was giving directions at 
the moment to Major Taylor, his chief of artillery, who had just 
brought a battery into position. Mounted orderlies were coming and 
going in haste ; staff officers were making anxious inquiries ; everybody 
but himself seemed excited. The battle was raging terrifically in every 
direction. Just then there seemed to be universal commotion on our 
right, where it was observed our men were giving back. * I was look- 
ing for that,' said Sherman ; * but I am ready for them.' His quick, 
sharp eye flashed, and his war-begrimed face beamed with satisfac- 
tion. The enemy's packed columns now made their appearance, and 
as quickly the guns which Sherman had so carefully placed in position 
began to speak. The deadly efiect on the enemy was apparent. 
While Sherman was still managing the artillery. Major Sanger, a staff 
officer, called his attention to the fact that the enemy's cavalry were 
charging towards the battery. * Order up those two companies of in- 
fantry,' was the quick reply ; and the general coolly went on with his 
guns. The cavalry made a gallant charge, but their horses carried 
back many empty saddles. The enemy was evidently foiled. Our 
men, gaining fresh courage, rallied again, and for the first time that 
day the enemy was held stubbornly in check. A moment more and he 
fell back over the piles of his dead and wounded." 

General Rousseau, a division officer of Buell's army of the Cumber- 
land, speaks of him in the following handsome manner : — 

" He gave us our first lessons in the field in the face of an enemy ; 
and of all the men I ever saw he is the most untiring, vigilant, and 
patient. No man that ever lived could surpass him. His enemies say 
that he was surprised at Shiloh. I tell you no. He was not surprised 
nor whipped, for he fights by the w^eek. Devoid of ambition, incapa- 
ble of envy, he is brave, gallant, and just. At Shiloh his old legion 
met him just as the battle was ended ; and at the sight of him, placing 
their hats upon their bayonets, gave him three cheers. It was a touch- 
ing and fitting compliment to the gallant chieftain. I am thankful 
for this occasion to do justice to a brave, honest, and knightly gen- 
tleman." 

Nor dJ4 he escape the attention of his commanding officer. General 



372 Sherman's march through the south. 

Grant, in a letter to the war depai-tment, under date of July 25, 1863, 
said, — 

" To General Sherman I was greatly indebted for his promptness in 
forwarding to me, during the siege of Fort Donelson, reenforcements 
and supplies from Paducah. At the battle of Shiloh, on the last day, 
he held, with raw troops, the key-point of the landing. It is no dis- 
paragement to any other officer to say, that I do not believe there was 
another division commander on the field who had the skill and ex- 
perience to have done it. To his individual efforts I am indebted for 
the success of that battle." 

General Halleck, in his despatch to the secretary of war, recom- 
mending General Sherman for promotion, said of him, — 

" It is the unanimous ©iDinion here that Brigadier General W. T. 
Sherman saved the fortunes of the day on the 6th of April, and con- 
tributed largely to the glorious victory of the 7th. He was in the 
thickest of the fight on both days, having three horses killed under 
him, and being wounded twice. I respectfully request that he be 
made a major general of volunteers," to date from the 6th instant. 

Acting upon this recommendation. General Sherman was promoted 
to the rank designated, to date from May 1, 1862. He next took part 
in the operations against Corinth, and his troops were the first to enter 
the enemy's works upon the morning of May 30. 

The summer of 1862 was passed in completely overrunning and sub- 
jecting that portion of Tennessee lying west of the Tennessee River. 
Sherman moved at the head of a column across the country towards 
Memphis. The city capitulated to the gunboats on the 6th of June, 
and Sherman occupied it, and assumed command July 22. It is not 
necessary to particularize upon his administration. The turbulent ele- 
ment of the community was soon reduced to order, and the Union 
people were allowed all reasonable privileges. "In November the gen- 
eral was assigned to the command of the right wing of the army of the 
Tennessee, and conducted an expedition threatening the enemy's rear 
south of the Tallahatchie River, and enabled General Grant to occupy 
the position without a fight. In December, he, having returned to 
Memphis, was assigned to the command of the 15th army corps, still 
continuing, however, in the general command of the right wing of the 
army. In the middle of the same month he organized an expedition, 
composed of the 13th and 15th corps, and moved down the Mississippi 
on transports, with a view to an attack upon Vicksburg from the Yazoo 
River, near Chickasaw Bayou and Haines's Bluff. The surrender of 
Holly Springs, Mississippi, enabling the enemy to concentrate at the 
point of attack frustrated the efforts of our troops. 



APPENDIX. 373 

The terrible fighting of December 27, 28, and 29, settled the fact 
that the place could not be taken by storm, and the troops were with- 
drawn to consummate the glorious victory of Arkansas Post, in Janu- 
ary, 1863. In this last action General Sherman was subordinate to 
General McClernand, having been assigned by that officer to the com- 
mand of the right wing of the temporary army of the Mississippi. 
Upon the concentration of troops, preparatory to further movements 
against Vicksburg, General Sherman was stationed with his corps in 
the vicinity of Young's Point. In March, 1863, he conducted the ex- 
pedition up Steele's Bayou, and released Admiral Porter's fleet of 
gunboats, w-hich, having been cut off and invested by the enemy, was 
in imminent danger of being captured. 

This expedition was, perhaps, one of the most severe ever under- 
taken by his troops. They penetrated through a country cut up by 
numerous and deep bayous and swamps, and overgrown by immense 
forests of cottonwood and cypress. Sherman, with his usual deter- 
mination, was iiot to be thwarted, and pushed ahead and accomplished 
his object. 

Upon the inauguration of General Grant's movement across the 
Peninsula to Grand Gulf and Bruinsburg, during April, 1863, General 
Sherman made a feint upon Haines's Bluff, on the Yazoo River. His 
demonstration (April 28 and 29) was intended to hold the enemy about 
Vicksburg while the main army was securing a foothold on the eastern 
shore of the Mississippi, below. Having successfully performed this 
duty, by means of rapid and forced marches he moved down the Lou- 
isiana side of the river, crossed at Grand Gulf, and immediately pushed 
forward and rejoined General Grant's main army. 

Sherman, with his corps, accompanied McPherson in his movement 
against Jackson, the capital of Mississippi. In the battle of Jackson 
Sherman took no prominent part, in consequence of the rout of the 
enemy being effected by McPherson's corps alone. The day after the 
battle McPherson hurried towards Baker's Creek, while Sherman 
remained in Jackson some hours longer, to complete the destruction of 
the enemy's stores and the railroad. He then moved on a line parallel 
with the route of march of McPherson's colmnn, crossed the Big Black 
River, and took possession of Walnut Hills, near Vicksburg, on May 
18. The occupation of this important position enabled General Grant 
to open communication with his depots of supplies on the Mississippi 
River, by way of Yazoo River, from Chickasaw Bayou. 

During the siege of Vicksburg Sherman's corps held the left of Gen- 
32 



374 Sherman's march through the south. 

eral Gretnt's lines, and cooperated in all the combined attacks of the 
centre and right. 

During the conference between the rebel commander Pemberton and 
General Grant, in regard to the terms of capitulation for the garrison 
and city of Vicksburg, Sherman was vigorously engaged in organizing 
an expedition at the Big Black Hiver. No sooner had Vicksburg sur- 
rendered than he received orders to throw his force across the river, 
and move out into the country. 

Vicksburg surrendered, and was occupied on the morning of the 
4th of July. The same afternoon troops were converging from all 
parts of the old lines, and Sherman's advance had already crossed 
the Big Black. 

It is not necessary to pursue the details of this expedition. Two 
days' march found Sherman investing Joe Johnston in Jackson. Before 
the beginning of August he engaged the enemy, and, defeating him 
severely, was about to close in upon his rear, vfhen the rebel com- 
mander very prudently withdrew. 

For his great services in the military operations of 1863, Major 
General Sherman was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 
the regular army, to date from July 4, 1863, and was confirmed by the 
United States Senate, February 29, 1864. 

Upon the assignment of General Grant to the command of the mil- 
tary division of the Mississippi, General Sherman succeeded, by au- 
thority of the president, to the command of the department and army 
of the Tennessee, to date from October 27, 1863. After making some 
necessary changes in the disposition of the troops on the Mississippi 
Kiver, Sherman concentrated portions of the 15th and 16th corps at 
Corinth, and in the month of November moved, by way of Tuscumbia 
and Decatur, Alabama, to join and participate with General Grant in 
his winter campaign against Chattanooga. 

General Sherman's forces moved up the north side of the Tennessee 
River, and during the nights of the 23d and 24th of November es- 
tablished pontoon bridges, and effected a lodgment on the south side, 
between Citico Creek and the Chickamauga River. 

After the development of the plans along other portions of the lines, 
on the 24th, Sherman carried the eastern end of Missionary Ridge up 
to the tunnel. On the next day the whole of Missionary Ridge, from 
Rossville to the Chickamauga, was carried, after a series of desperate 
struggles. 

By the turning of the enemy's right, and forcing it back upon Ring- 
gold and Dalton, Sherman's forces were thrown between Bragg and 



APPENDIX. 375 

Longstreet, completely severing the enemy's lines. No sooner was' 
this end attained than Thomas and Hooker forced Bragg into Georgia, 
■while Sherman, with his own and Granger's forces, moved off to the 
succor of Knoxville. Burnside, by a gallant defence of the position, 
held out against Longstreet, who, upon the appearance of Sherman, 
was obliged to raise the siege, and effected his escape by withdrawing 
into Virginia. 

The enemy being defeated at every point, his army broken, and his 
plans completely disan-anged, and Grant's army in winter quarters. 
General Sherman, personally, left for Cairo, thence for Memphis, ar- 
riving in the beginning of January. 

After organizing a portion of the 16th corps for the field, he de- 
spatched it upon transports to Vicksburg. In the latter part of the 
month he joined it, and finished the organization of a fine body of 
troops, composed of portions of the 16th army corps, Major General 
S. A. Hurlbut commanding, and the 17th army corps, Major General 
James B. McPherson commanding. 

On the 3d of February the expeditionary army, commanded in per- 
son by Sherman, crossed the Big Black, and after continuous skirmish- 
ing along the route, entered Meridian, Mississippi, February 14, 1864, 
driving Polk, with a portion of his army, towards Mobile, another 
portion towards Selma, and completely cutting off Lovell from the 
main army, pursuing him with cavalry northward towards Marion. 
Remaining in possession of Meridian four days, the railroads converg- 
ing there were destroyed within a radius of twenty miles. The army 
then returned by a difiierent route, reaching Canton, Mississippi, Feb- 
ruary 26. Turning over the command of his army to McPherson, with 
instructions to devastate the country, and then to continue the return 
march to Vicksburg, General Sherman, at 8 o'clock the next morning, 
escorted by the 2d Iowa cavalry, pushed through in advance of the 
army, riding over sixty miles in twenty-four hours, and reached Vicks- 
burg on the morning of February 28. Remaining in the city but a 
few hours, he embarked on one of the boats of the Mississippi marine 
brigade, and left for New Orleans. At the expiration of eight days he 
returned to Vicksburg, having, during his absence, consulted with 
General Banks upon the Red River expedition, towards which he was 
to contribute a cooperating column. This force was immediately or- 
ganized and equipped, and embarked in March for the mouth of Red 
River, and was commanded by Generals A. J. Smith and Thomas 
Ku'by Smith, both veteran officers, of large experience and ability. 
Sherman now left for Memphis. 



376 Sherman's march through the south. 

The promotion of General Grant to the rank of lieutenant general 
and commander-in-chief of the armies of the United States, opened a 
still higher promotion to General Sherman. By authority of the pres- 
ident, expressed in general orders, dated March 12, he was assigned 
to the command of the military division of the Mississippi. On the 
14th of March he received notification of his appointment, while at 
Memphis. He immediately left for Nashville, and held a conference 
with General Grant upon the subject of the spring operations. Be- 
tween the two officers there was a full and complete understanding of 
the policy and plans for the ensuing campaign, which was designed to 
embrace a vast area of country. 

On the 25th General Sherman commenced a tour of inspection of 
the various armies of his command, visiting Athens, Decatur, Hunts- 
ville, and Larkin's Ferry, Alabama ; Chattanooga, Loudon, and Knox- 
ville, Tennessee. In the course of his visit he held interviews with 
Major General McPherson at Huntsville, Major General Thomas at 
Chattanooga, and Major General Schofield at Knoxville. With these 
officers he arranged in general terms the lines of communication to be 
guarded, the strength of the several columns and garrisons, and ap- 
pointed the 1st of May as the time for everything to be in readiness. 
While these commanders were carrying out their instructions, General 
Sherman returned to Nashville, giving his personal attention to the 
subject of supplies, organizing a magnificent system of railroad com- 
munication by two routes from Nashville. The storehouses and de- 
pots of Chattanooga soon groaned beneath the weight of abundance. 
The whole of East Tennessee and Northern Alabama contributed to 
the general store, while the whole north-west and west poured volumes 
of sustenance through the avenues of communication from Louisville. 

On the 27th of April the three great armies of his division were 
converging at Chattanooga. The 1st of May witnessed over sixty 
thousand troops and one hundred and thirty guns, forming the army 
of the Cumberland, Major General George H. Thomas commanding, 
encamped in the vicinity of Ringgold, Georgia. 

The gallant McPherson, with a portion of Grant's old veteran and 
victorious battalions of the army of the Tennessee, numbering twenty- 
five thousand troops of all arms, and ninety-six guns, lay at Gordon's 
Mill, on the historic Chickamauga. 

General Schofield, with over thirteen thousand troops and twenty- 
eight guns, constituting the army of the Ohio, lay on the Georgia line, 
north of Dalton. 

In the aggregate these three armies formed a grand army of over 



APPENDIX. 377 

ninety-eight thousand men, and two hundred and fifty-four guns, under 
the supreme command of General Sherman. 

The enemy, superior in cavalry, and with three corps of infantry 
and artillery, commanded by Hardee, Hood, and Polk, and all under 
the general command of General Joseph E. Johnston, lay in and about 
Dalton. His position was covered by an inaccessible ridge known as 
the Rocky Face, through which ran Buzzard Roost Gap. The railroad 
and wagon road following this pass the enemy had strongly defended 
by abatis and well-constructed fortifications. Batteries commanded 
it in its whole length, and especially from a ridge at its farther end, 
like a traverse directly across its debouche. To drive the enemy from 
this position by the front was impossible. After well reconnoitring 
the vicinity, but one practicable route by which to attack Johnston 
was found, and that was by Snake Creek Gap, by which Resaca, a 
point on the enemy's railroad communication eighteen miles below 
Dalton, could be reached. Accordingly McPherson was instructed to 
move rapidly from his position at Gordon's Mill by way of Ship's 
Gap, Villanow, and Snake Creek Gap, directly upon Resaca. Dur- 
ing this movement Thomas was to make a strong feint attack in front, 
and Schofield was to press down from the north. Thomas occupied 
Tunnel Hill, May 7, facing Buzzard Roost Gap, experiencing little 
opposition, except from cavalry. McPherson reached Snake Creek 
Gap May 8, surprising a brigade pf the enemy while en route to occupy 
it. May 9, Schofield moved down from the north close on Dalton. 
The same day Newton's division of the 4th corps carried the ridge, 
Geary, of the 20th corps, crowding on for the summit. While this 
was going on at the front, the head of McPherson's column made its 
appearance near Resaca, and took position confronting the enemy's 
works. May 10, the 20th corps (Hooker) moved to join McPherson ; 
the 14th corps (Palmer) followed; the 4th corps (Howard) com- 
menced pounding Dalton from the front. Meanwhile Schofield also 
hastened to join McPherson. May 11, the whole army, with the 
exception of Howard's corps and some cavalry, was in motion for 
Snake Creek Gap. May 12, McPherson debouched from the gap on 
the main road, Kilpatrick, with his cavalry, in front ; Thomas moved 
on McPherson's left, Schofield on Thomas's left ; Kilpatrick drove 
the enemy within two miles of Resaca. Kilpatrick having been 
wounded, Colonel Murray took command, and, wheeling out of the 
road, McPherson's columns crowded impetuously by, and driving the 
enemy's advance within the defences of Resaca, occupied a ridge of 
bold hills, his right resting on the Oustenaula, two miles below the 
32* 



378 Sherman's march through the south. 

railroa4 bridge, and his left abreast the town. Thomas, on his left, 
facing Camp Creek, and Schofield, forcing his way through a dense 
forest, came in on the extreme left. The enemy had evacuated Dal- 
ton, and was now concentrated at Resaca. Howard occupied Dalton, 
and hung upon the enemy's rear. May 14, the battle of Resaca 
commenced. May 15, it continued. The same night the enemy was 
flying towards the Etowah. The whole army followed in pursuit. 
May 19, Sherman held all the country north of the Etowah, and sev- 
eral crossings of that stream. May 23, the whole army was moving 
upon the flank of the enemy's position in the Allatoona Mountains. 
May 25, Hooker whipped the enemy near New Hope Church. On 
May 28, McPherson killed and wounded about five thousand of the 
enemy near Dallas. June 6, the enemy was in hasty retreat to 
his next position, at Kenesaw Mountains. June 8, Blair arrived at 
Ackworth, with the fresh troops of the 17th corps. June 11, the 
sounds of Sherman's artillery reverberated among the rugged con- 
tortions of Kenesaw. July 3, the enemy was pressing for the Chatta- 
hoochee ,' the mountains and Marietta were occupied by our forces the 
same day. The enemy had a tete de pont and formidable works on 
the Chattahoochee, at the railroad crossing. Sherman advanced 
boldly, with a small force, on the front. July 7, Schofield had pos- 
session of one of the enemy's pontoons, and occupied the south side 
of the Chattahoochee. By July 9, Sherman held three crossings. 
Johnston abandoned his tete de pont, and there was no enemy north 
or west of the Chattahoochee, July 10. July 17, the whole army was 
in motion across the Chattahoochee. July 18, Atlanta was cut off 
from the east. Rousseau, with an expeditionary cavalry force, was 
operating within the enemy's lines. July 20, all the armies closed in 
upon Atlanta. The same afternoon, the enemy attacked Hooker, and 
was driven into his intrenchments. On July 22, Johnston was relieved, 
and Hood, in command of the enemy, suddenly attacked McPherson's 
extreme left with overpowering numbers. Giles A. Smith held the 
position first attacked, with a division of McPherson's troops. First 
he fought from one side of the parapet ; then, being attacked in the 
rear, he fought from the other. McPherson's whole army soon 
became engaged. The battle was the most desperate of the cam- 
paign. McPherson was killed when the contest was the thickest. 
His last order saved the army. Logan succeeded to command. 
" McPherson and revenge " rang along the lines. The efiect was 
electric, and victory closed in with the night. The battle footed up 
nine thousand of the enemy against four thousand of our own troops 



APPENDIX. 379 

killed and wounded — a balance in our favor of five thousand dead 
and mangled bodies. 

Sherman gradually enveloped the city. August 31, Hood again 
attacked the army of the Tennessee, now commanded by Howard. 
It took two hours to run up a list of twenty-five hundred killed and 
wounded of the enemy, and hurl him back within his defences. Sep- 
tember 1, the enemy retreated south. That night, heavy explosions 
were heard in the direction of Atlanta. The next morning, the city 
was found evacuated. Pursuing the enemy for a short distance, Sher- 
man withdrew his whole army for rest, encamping it at points near 
and around Atlanta. He instantly banished all the inhabitants of the 
place, and accumulated a large supply of stores. The wisdom of this 
step was soon apparent. The enemy, in October, moved around the 
flank of Sherman's army. Sherman encouraged him. Hood made 
demonstrations upon the lines of communication, but gained no suc- 
cess. Sherman now organized two armies. One, under Thomas, 
was to look after Hood ; with the remainder he set out, about the 
middle of November, upon what promised to be one of the most 
brilliant campaigns of the war. With regard to this movement, 
Mr. Lincoln aptly remarked, "We all know where Sherman went in; 
it now remains to be seen where he will come out." 

In all of General Sherman's career he has evinced a determination 
in the cause of the government, and a correctness of views, that have 
not failed to elicit the remark and admiration of the country. He 
rose amid a singular ordeal, and, while the ephemeral lights of the 
early war broke forth, flickered for a moment, and then expired, he 
applied himself quietly and usefully to the fighting of the enemy. 
He advanced slowly but surely, and to-day, in military skill and ability 
of execution, is second to no officer in the army. He also possesses a 
remarkable moral force. He never consults the comfort of an enemy 
in regard to his measures, but orders and carries out. He always has 
a line of duty, from which he cannot be moved. For instance, when 
he commenced preparations for his Georgia campaign, the depots at 
Chattanooga were empty. • The following was the substance of one of 
his first orders : — 

"Provisions will no longer be issued to citizens at military posts 
south of Nashville. When citizens cannot procure provisions in the 
country, there is no alternative but to remove to the rear. 

*' Supplies must not be sold to any person save officers in the service 
of the United States, and men employed by quartermasters, or in 
other departments of the government, at a rate not to exceed one 



380 Sherman's march through the south. 

ration per day. It is idle to be pushing forward subsistence stores, if 
lavished and expended upon persons not belonging to the army." 

The order was carried out. 

During the same campaign, members of the Christian Commission 
applied for permission for its delegates to pass within his lines. He 
replied to their letter, — 

" Certainly not ; crackers and oats are more necessary for the army 
than any moral or religious agency, and every regiment has its 
chaplain." 

When, afterwards, he traversed the long, single line of rickety rail- 
road, beset by guerrillas, and upon which he was obHged to depend 
for supplies for his army, and now that we realize how much of the 
success of his campaign depended upon secret combinations and sud- 
den movements, we can appreciate the necessity for this stringent 
military control over his rear communication, and approve the policy 
of the general who makes the material support of the army his first 
and constant care. 

A great deal might also be said of Sherman in relation to his views 
upon the questions of the war, the treatment of guerrillas, the treat- 
ment of secession sympathizers, and upon the important subject of 
military necessities ; but his letters are not yet forgotten, and their 
principles are now beneficially at work in many portions of the 
soUth-west. 

In physical appearance, General Sherman is about an inch less than 
six feet in height. His frame is of good size ; but a moderate devel- 
opment of muscle gives him an appearance of being more slender than 
he really is. His hair and eyes are dark, his forehead high, and so 
exceedingly fair, that, standing as it does in marked contrast with his 
hair and eyes, it is his prominent feature. His cheeks are marked 
with deep lines. A benevolent countenance, together with a kind and 
genial manner, make him look more like a minister than the stern 
soldier he is. 

The following is a picture of Sherman, as he appeared during one 
of the movements around Atlanta. It is given by a correspondent. 

" While I was watching to-day the endless line of troops shifting 
by, an officer with a modest escort rode up to the fence near which I 
was standing, and dismounted. He was rather tall and slender, and 
his quick movements denoted good muscle, added to absolute leanness 
— not thinness. His"uniform was neither new nor old, but bordering 
on a hazy mellowness of gloss, while the elbows and knees were a 
little accented from the continuous agitation of those joints. 



APPENDIX. 381 

"The face was one I should never rest upon in a crowd, simply 
because, to my eye, there was nothing remarkable in it save the nose, 
which organ was high, thin, and planted with a curve as vehement as 
the curl of a Malay cutlass. The face and neck were rough, and cov- 
ered with reddish hair; the eye light in color and animated, but, 
though restless, and bounding like a ball from one object to another, 
neither piercing nor brilliant ; the mouth well closed, but common ; the 
ears large ; the hands and feet long and thin ; the gait a little rolling, 
but firm and active. In dress and manner there was not the slightest 
trace of pretension. He spoke rapidly, and generally with an inquis- 
itive smile. To this ensemble I must add a hat which was the reverse 
of dignified or distinguished, — a simple felt afiair, with a round crown 
and drooping brim, — and you have as fair a description of General 
Sherman's externals as I can pen. 

" Seating himself on a stick of cordwood, hard by the fence, he drew 
a bit of pencil from his pocket, and, spreading a piece of note paper 
on his knee, he wrote with great rapidity. Long columns of troops 
lined the road a few yards in his front, and beyond the road, massed 
in a series of spreading green fields, a whole division of infantry was 
waiting to take up the line of march, the blue ranks clear cut against 
the verdant background. Those who were near their general looked 
at him curiously ; for in so vast an army the soldier sees his com- 
mander-in-chief but seldom. Page after page was filled by the gen- 
eral's nimble pencil, and despatched. 

" For a half hour I watched him ; and though I looked for and 
expected to find them, no symptoms could I detect that the mind of 
the great leader was taxed by the infinite cares of a terribly hazardous 
military coup de main. Apparently it did not lay upon his mind the 
weight of a feather. A mail arrived. He tore open the papers, and 
glanced over them hastily, then chatted with some general oflScers 
near him, then rode ofi" with characteristic suddenness, but with fresh 
and smiling countenance, filing down the road beside many thousand 
men, whose lives were in his keeping." 



382 Sherman's march through the south. 

II. 

ORGANIZATION OF GENERAL SHERMAN'S STAFF AND ARMY. 

I will say a few words about the chiefs of the leading departments, 
Sherman's personal staff, and difl'erent commanders. 

Major General Barry, a descendant of the noble house of Barry- 
more, of Cork, Ireland, chief of artillery, is a veteran soldier, of judg- 
ment and experience, and is also a kind, courteous gentleman, possess- 
ing a good deal of the frank, honest manner of the old school. 

Of the merits of Brigadier General Easton, chief quartermaster, 
I have before spoken in this work. 

General C. EwiNG, inspector general, is brother-in-law to General 
Sherman ; is a thorough soldier, and a kind, courteous gentleman. 
Efficient in the discharge of his duties, kind to the afflicted, he never 
turned a deaf ear to real suffering, and his charitable interference 
saved many a poor family from ruin. 

Dr. Moore, chief medical director of the army, has proved himself 
not only a skilful practitioner, but also a man of fine organizing admin- 
istrative powers. The despatch with which hospitals were established, 
and the admirable manner in which the wounded were carried and cared 
for during our campaigns and marches through Georgia and the Caro- 
linas, reflect the highest credit upon his controlling influence, and on 
the medical staff in general. Dr. Moore is, I think, a north of Ireland 
man. 

Colonel Beckwith, chief commissary, was an energetic, calculating, 
hard-working man, of great conception and endurance. 

Personal Staff of General STierman in the Field. 
Major McCoy, A. D. C. 
Captain Audenried, A. D. C. 
Major Hitchcock, A. A. G. 
Captain Dayton, A. D. C, performing the duties of adjutant general. 

The following officers transacted the important duties of the Nash- 
ville bureau : — 

Brigadier General Webster, 

Lieutenant Colonel R. M. Sawyer, A. A. G. 

Captain Rochester, A. A. G. 

Captain Warner, A. Q. M. 

Captain Coverdale, A. Q. M. 



APPENDIX. 383 

Captain Jenny, in charge of the engineer bureau at Nashville. 

The signal corps was represented by Captain Bachtal, who proved 
himself a very active and intelligent officer. 

Colonel PoE was chief of engineers, a man of genius and scientific 
knowledge. 

Captain Baylor, chief of ordnance. 

The army was divided into two wings, one under command of Major 
General Howard, comprising the 15th and 17th corps. 

The other, under command of Major General Slocum, comprised the 
14th and 20th corps. 

The loth corps was commanded by Major General John A. Logan 
until its arrival in Washington, when. General Howard being trans- 
ferred to the freedmen's bureau, General Logan was transferred to his 
command, and General Hazen took command of the 15th corps. 

Its division commanders were — 1st division, General Wood; 2d 
division. General Hazen ; 4th division. General Corse. Its 3d division 
has been consolidated with the others. 

The 17th corps was commanded by General Frank Blair. Its 
division commanders were — 1st division. General Force ; 2d division, 
General Giles E. Smith ; 3d division. General Legate. 

Howard's command has been called the army of the Tennessee, and 
Slocum's the army of Georgia. 

The 14th corps was commanded by General Jeff C. Davis. At 
the opening of the campaign it was commanded by General Palmer, 
then by General Johnson. 

Its division commanders were — 1st division. General Carlin ; 2d 
division. General J. D. Morgan ; 3d division, General Baird. 

The 20th corps was commanded up to Atlanta by Major General 
Hooker, subsequently by General Williams. 

Its division commanders were — 1st division, General Jackson; 2d 
division. General J. W. Geary ; 3d division. General W. T. Ward. 

The cavalry corps was under the command of Major General KlL- 
PATRICK. 

Badges of the different Corps. 

The 20th corps, a star — 1st division, red ; 2d, white ; and 3d, blue. 
14th corps, an acorn — red, white, and blue. 
17th corps, an arrow — red, white, and blue. 

loth corps, a cartridge-box — red, white, and blue, and yellow for 4th 
division. 

There is a little story connected with this badge. An Lish soldier 



384 Sherman's march through the south. 

belonging to the 15th corps, as he trudged along, met a soldier of the 
20th coj-ps. The latter asked Pat, — 

" What corps do you belong to ? " 

" Faix, then, John Logan's corps." 

" Haven't you any badge ? " 

« Badge — arrah, what's that ? " 

" Look here," said the other, proudly pointing to his bran new star; 
" there is my badge ? " 

" An' here, by japers, is my badge ; forty rounds in me cartridge- 
box," was the other's ready reply, as he gave a sound slap to the said 
cartridge-box in proof of his assertion. 

General Logan was so well pleased at Paddy's reply, that he adopted 
the cartridge-box as the badge of the corps. 



III. 

THE SURRENDER AND PAROLE OF GENERAL JOHNSTON'S ARMY. 

The details of the condition and surrender of General Johnston and 
his army to General Sherman, which we copy from the New York 
Herald, were left in the hands of Major General Schofield. 

General Sherman, having made proper arrangements for the final 
march and disposition of his army, took his leave, with the intention 
of joining them at Alexandria. 

Generals Howard and Slocum commanded the two columns which 
broke camp around Raleigh on the 29th and 30th ult. 

We arrived at Greensboro' about 4 o'clock yesterday to begin the 
parolling of the prisoners. A large number of paroled officers and 
men were loitering about the depot. The women crowded out to see 
the Yankee troops, but the men made no display ; even the bands 
refrained from playing. 

Before night the rebels and ourselves were on the best possible 
terms with one another. Rebel and Federal soldiers were grouped 
together around the fires, trading coffee, whiskey, meat, and tobacco. 
Some of them were fighting their battles over again. 

General Hardee had a carriage and barouche in readiness for the 
party, and drove them to the residence of Ex-Governor Morehead, 
where they took up their quarters. In the evening. Generals Schofield, 



APPENDIX. 385 

Cox, and staff paid a visit to General Johnston at his headquarters, 
about a mile and a half from the town. 

General Johnston's camp was a very plain one, scarcely as respect- 
able as a division general's in the Union array. The tents were old, 
and scattered about without much regard to regularity. The general's 
tent was a plain wall tent, not much better than the rest. In front of 
this, General Johnston and some five or six officers of his staff were 
sitting. On the lid of a mess-chest near them were the remains of 
a very plain, frugal supper. Johnston is a man of about five feet nine 
inches in height, rather slight, but muscularly built frame. From ap- 
pearance I should take him to be about fifty. Only that his hair and 
beard are so gray, you would not think him so old. He is evidently a 
man of great reflective powers, schooled into the greatest subserviency, 
combined with untiring energy. His conversation is so natural, dig- 
nified, and easy that you at once feel at your ease, though, at the same 
time, you are conscious that he is reading your thoughts like an open 
book. He has much of the refined ease and elegance of a gentleman, 
with the penetration and firmness of a soldier. He conversed freely. 

A remark was made on the hopelessness of the south contending 
against the north with her vast wealth and unbounded resources, 
both in men and means. While this war has depopulated and devas- 
tated the south, the north was never so flourishing, and never had so 
large a population. 

" True enough ; yet we did not fail so much from the want of men 
and means as from mismanagement. Had we your government, sir, 
the result might be quite different." 

He thinks the mass of the people will quietly return to their homes, 
and conform to the new state of things. He was bitter on the murder 
of President Lincoln. 

" Lincoln, sir," he said, " was a good man and a conservative man. 
His death placed in power a man of radical principles — a southern 
man — a man, I fear, of strong private prejudices, who will not try to 
heal up the wounds of the nation. The scoundrel Booth was a hot- 
brained man, full of a land of tragic desire of immortality. He was no 
friend to the south. If, at any time, such an act could complicate the 
Federal government, it is not now. Even should the president's death 
help our cause for a season, it would be sure to bring a curse upon it ; 
for never did a cause flourish by assassination. All good men and 
true soldiers detest the assassin. I hope he may be taken alive, in 
order to come at his accomplices." 

General Johnston spoke in very flattering terms of General Sher- 
33 



386 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

man's military abilities, but was very bitter on Jeff Davis, in fact, 
attributing the whole failure to his bungling administration. 

In a few days the rebel army will march to their respective states 
to be disbanded and paroled. It is thought that about thirty thousand 
will be paroled, the remainder having broken up in squads, and scat- 
tered over the country. This they did while the peace negotiations 
were pending. They were glad of the chance. The obloquy of deser- 
tion being removed, they bade good by to the rebel cause, and thought 
they would carry on a little war on their own account, which they are 
doing by pillaging and plundering the wretched inhabitants through the 
country. Johnston had close on fifty thousand men, all told, infantry, 
and cavalry, under him. Thirty thousand being paroled, leaves a 
desertion of nearly twenty thousand. The south might justly exclaim, 
" From our friends, O Lord deliver us ! " 

We have got in but very few battle-flags or horses. All of them 
have been either destroyed or carried off. We have about fifteen 
thousand stand of small arms, with about one hundred and ten or 
twenty pieces of artillery. One fifth of the men were allowed to retain 
their arms, to guard the rest and their supplies on their way home. 
Only the officers' paroles have been signed on the spot. The others 
have been given to the brigade commanders, not to be distributed until 
they are disbanding. This was done in order to keep them together. 

Lee's and Hardee's corps were stationed at High Point, some four- 
teen miles from Ilaleigh ; Stewart's corps at Hoyt's place, about five 
miles from town. 

The number of men and officers paroled in each corps is — 

In Hardee's, about eight thousand five hundred ; Stewart's, close on 
eight thousand ; S. D. Lee's, about five thousand ; in the cavalry, about 
three thousand five hundred. To these might be added several inde- 
pendent commands. 

Generals Debrill's and Young's divisions of cavahy, which have been 
operating on the confines of Georgia and South Carolina, are not likely 
to come in to be paroled, but will disband themselves, or become guer- 
rillas. Wade Hampton and Wheeler have betaken themselves no one 
knows where. It is generally supposed that they are with the dethroned 
Jeff Davis. 

There is no blame attached to General Johnston on account of the 
desertion of his troops. He had sent word to General Schofield, a few 
day? previous, that his men were breaking up in bodies, and that he 
was powerless to prevent them, as they had lost all regard for order or 
discipline. They even stole most of the headquarters horses, leaving 



APPENDIX. 387 

the general and staff to shift for themselves. They have even dis- 
mounted several of their officers, with the polite intimation that "the 
d — d sons of b — s rode long enough ; it was their turn now, and to 
get off quick, or they would let the light through them." The out- 
raged, despised scions of aristocracy would of course submit to such 
killing arguments. 

This proves that the rebel army was not actuated by a spirit of 
patriotism, but coerced by military despotism or fanaticism. 

The poor privates are trying to work their way home, lame, naked, 
and hungry, despised and loathed by the chivalry, for whose dynasty 
they fought. I have seen ladies, who would treat you to two mortal 
hours' bitter invective against the Yanks, refuse to feed poor, deluded, 
foot-sore rebel soldiers, while Union soldiers freely shared their hard 
tack and coffee with them, or Union officers handed them their lunches 
from their saddle-bags. 

There is a bitter feeling growing in the south among the democ- 
racy against the aristocracy. 

I remarked that there was nothing like the same order and neatness 
in the rebel camps that marked the Federals. No nicely laid out 
streets ; no shaded pavilions for headquarters ; but they looked like a 
bivouac, or as if there was a heavy shower of dirty tents* and there 
, they stood, higgledy-piggledy, big and little, as they fell. About 
eleven o'clock next morning we left Greensboro'. General Johnston 
called to bid General Schofield good by, and remained a long time in 
conversation, in the carriage with him. The people greeted us, as we 
stopped at the different stations. The ladies received us with bouquets 
of flowers and waving handkerchiefs. At Company Shops station, 
there was quite a meeting of negroes, of all shades and sizes, 
awaiting us. 

Major General Cox remains at Greensboro', where he is about 
establishing his headquarters ; so also is Kilpatrick. A division of 
the 23d corps is to remain at Raleigh ; another, Rogers's, at Char- 
lotte ; the remainder between Salisbury, Hillsboro', and other points. 
The bulk of Kilpatrick's cavalry will also garrison the same places, 
while the dismounted and useless portion will be sent home. 

This morning General Hardee's party left Raleigh at five o'clock, 
and reached DuiTiam's at half past seven. By invitation, they break- 
fasted with General Kilpatrick, after which they continued on to 
Greensboro'. I accompanied the party from Durham's. General 
Hardee received me in a very cordial, generous, unreserved manner. 
We talked freely on all subjects of interest at the present time. In 



8B8 Sherman's march through the south. 

speaking of the war, he made this remarkable assertion : " Su', I 
accept this war as the providence of God. He intended that the slave 
should be free, and now he is free. Slavery was never a paying insti- 
tution. I have often told my friends so. For instance, my wife 
owned about one hundred negroes ; forty of the hundred were useless 
for work, yet she had to feed these forty, in order to get the work of 
the other sixty. The negro will be worse off for this war. Will any 
of your abolitionists of the north feed and clothe half a dozen little 
children, in order to get the work of a man and woman ? Sir, our 
people can pay the working negroes a fair compensation for their ser- 
vices, and let them take care of their own families, and then have as 
much left at the end of the year as we had under the old system." 

" General, do you think we will soon have real peace ? " 

" I do. I think the people of the south are anxious for it. They 
wanted it two years ago. I then saw that our cause could not succeed." 

" Will we not have guerrilla warfare ? " 

" So help me God, sir, if Ave do, I am willing and ready to fight to 
put an end to it." 

" Is the same sentiment entertained by the other general officers 
who have been in the Confederate service ? " 

"It is. I have not the slightest doubt but they will use every 
means they can command to bring quietness and security again in the 
land. They will in no wise support those who do not obey the laws." 

" How will it be in South Carolina? " 

" South Carolina is the worst whipped state in the Union." 

" But will not her leading spirits control the masses ? " 

" They, too, are crushed. She has no leading spirits now. Let me 
impress it upon you that the people of the south want to live in 
peace with the people of the north, and you will find they will do it. 
They will do it cheerfully, provided your government does not resort 
to harsh measures. If it does resort to such measures, I cannot 
answer for the consequences. AVe staked our all on the success of 
our arms, and they failed us ; and now we are willing to return to and 
live under the laws of the United States as we find them, although 
they may not be as we would desire to have them." 

" Your officers have no money. What are they going to do ? " 

" They must go to work. The prospect before them is most 
gloomy indeed. It will be very hard on old men like me. I can- 
not now commence a profession." 

" Do you think Jeff Davis was pleased at the assassination of Pres- 
ident Lincoln ? " 



APPENDIX. 389 

" I do not think he was. The people of the south do not like 
Andy Johnson. How can they, compared to Mr. Lincoln ? Lincoln 
had been in office four years, and knew whom he could trust. He had 
also learned to govern. He had made a name. He could have done 
many things for the south that Johnson cannot. I do not believe 
that Lincoln was a party man — that is, that he was particidarly so. 
Johnson is a party man. He is new, and the fear is, he will be radical. 
I hope he will not, for the good of the country and the welfare of the 
people." 

*' It is said that Jeff Davis went off with several millions in specie. 
Is it so?" 

" I camiot particularly say whether it is or not. I know that Gen- 
eral Johnston asked Mr. Davis to order some of the troops to be paid 
off in gold, and he replied that he had no control over the money. 
He said that the most of it had been taken from the Virginia banks, 
and that when these were again able to receive it, he would see that it 
was properly returned." 

" Do you think that if Mr. Davis takes the money out of the con- 
federacy, he Avill return it to the banks ? " 

" I think he will." 

" Is there much cotton in the south, general ? " 

" O yes. And, by the way, let me say that it will oppress the people 
of the south very much, if the government of the United States con- 
fiscates the cotton belonging to private individuals. These people 
need the cotton and tobacco to commence business on. They are the 
only articles they have to sell. Give them a chance to sell their cotton 
and their tobacco, and there will be greenbacks introduced, and trade 
will revive. The cotton which the Confederate government owned, I 
believe to be the rightful property of the United States ; and further, 
believe that the people of the south should be honest, and turn that 
property in to the agents authorized to receive it. One man told me 
he had some Confederate cotton on his plantation, and that he intended 
to burn it before the enemy should get possession of it. I told him 
he would be doing very wrong in committing such an act. On my 
wife's plantation in Alabama I have some cotton that belonged to the 
Confederate government, which I am well guarding, and will turn it 
over whenever the United States agents are ready to receive it," 

At this juncture, a special train with United States troops, and 

Generals Schofield, Cox, and Kilpatrick on board, arrived close behind 

ours, at a station Vv-here the engine was stopped for wood and water. 

The second train had left Raleigh at 7 A. M., and was also bound 

33* 



390 

for Greensboro'. General Hardee, and two other rebel officers, 
repaired ^to the car in which the Union generals were sitting, where- 
upon introductions took place, and agreeable conversation ensued. 

On the line of the North Carolina llailroad, the appearance of the 
Union soldiers was hailed with gladness. The ladies Avaved their 
handkerchiefs, the band played, the soldiers cheered, the darkies 
danced, and all seemed delighted and overjoyed. A bright mulatto 
girl, who got in conversation with an ofiicer, inquired if Massa Greeley 
was on board of the train. If so, she said she had a bouquet for 
him. As we passed one house, on the way up, an old lady came out, 
waved the dishcloth, and danced, as though the joyous character of 
her feelings made her limbs to work like piston-rods. All on the 
train noticed the old lady's movements, and marked her joy. At 
Company Shops, the ladies had prepared dinner for the generals, but, 
owing to the necessity of i)ushing on, the officers had to forego the 
pleasures of the feast prepared for them. 

At Company Shops there arc a large depot, and extensive works 
for the construction of cars, railroad iron, and engines. The build- 
ings are all of brick. A feature of the place is the number of well- 
constructed brick houses, built by the company for the families of 
its employees. 

On our arrival at Greensboro', General Hardee conducted Generah 
Schofield, Cox, and Kilpatrick to the headquarters of General John- 
ston, where the Union generals were politely received, a conference 
ensuing. While the same was going on, the 104th Ohio volunteer 
regiment was marched into the town, to do provost guard duty. As 
was quite natural, a very large crowd collected to see the ambassadors 
from Yankeedora. The streets w'ere full of rebel soldiers, some of 
whom were paroled, and some not. We found two or three hotels 
open, doing business, and succeeded in getting rooms at one of them. 

After the Union generals had conferred with General Johnston, the 
gentlemen of the press were formally presented and introduced to the 
rebel commander, who rose and received them in the most friendly 
manner. 

During a brief period, when the general was disengaged, I had a 
private conversation with him, on subjects pertaining to the war, and 
the surrender of his army. I read to him the following : — 

War Department, i 
Washington, April 24, 1805. \ 
This department has information that the president's murder was 
organized in Canada, and approved at lUchmond. * * ♦ 

Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, 



APPENDIX. 391 

After which I inquired, " General, do you think that Mr. Davis had 
any thing to do with the assassination ? " 

" I do not," he replied. " When I told President Davis that Pres- 
ident Lincoln had been assassinated, he was very much grieved indeed. 
I do not believe — in fact, am sure that President Davis did not in 
any way countenance the act." 

" General Hampton went away without being paroled ? " 

"Yes; I understand he Avas ordered by the president to accom- 
pany him." 

General Jolmston admitted that one division of Wheeler's cavalry 
had gone off with Davis. Wheeler, it was reported to-day, had also 
gone with him. 

General Johnston says that all the rebel forces in the States of 
North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, are included in the 
surrender. 

I find that the leading' southern men arc widely divided in senti- 
ment among themselves. And what is more, General Sherman's 
course has been the source of much trouble for the north. By not 
demanding an immediate surrender, it enabled Jeff Davis to escape 
wilh much gold and silver, and to have it guarded by a strong rebel 
cavalry force. The armistice afforded an opportunity for the rebel 
commanders to make speeches to their commands, and they improved 
that opportunity to do so. One commander (General Hoke) told his 
men that the war was ^ over ; that they were overpowered ; that he 
would like to have them remain with him and be paroled, but if any 
of them wanted to go home, they could do so. 

The consequence was, that fully two thirds of his command did go 
home, scattering throughout the country, some carrying their arms 
with them, and some not. It is the same of many other rebel com- 
manders. General Johnston says there was no absolute, immediate 
necessity for the surrender ; that he could have got away from Gen- 
eral Sherman. He said, — 

" But I saw that we must come up somewhere. We would cer- 
tainly have had to stop at the Mississippi ; so I negotiated as I did 
with General Sherman, believing it criminal to prolong a hopeless war 
another day. The fate of the Confederacy was decided in Virginia. 
When Lee surrendered, there was an end to it. Had I marched my 
army away, as I could have done, it was only dragging Sherman after 
me. He would have foraged on the country, and I would have been 
compelled to do the same. The country would have been devastated, 
and we would have had to come to some terms at last." 



392 Sherman's march through the south. 

Judging from General Johnston's conversation, and from what I 
have heard from those who were present at the conference, he would 
have surrendered his army at once on the terms granted to Lee. 

General Johnston's headquarters are located in a pleasant grove, on 
a high hill, at a distance of about two miles west of Greensboro'. 
The members of his staff still remain with him. The whole are 
in tents. 

Tlie General Officers paroled. 

As the following officers belonged to the headquarters depai'tment, 
and to the navy, I give their names, as also the number of men 
belonging to their respective commands surrendered: — 

Eank. No. of Men. 

Admiral R. Semmes, naval brigade, 246 

General P. T. G. Beauregard, and staff officers, . . . .54 

Major Smith, quartermaster commissary, 21 

Flag Officer Forrest, naval brigade, 74 

Captain Taylor, detachment Lee's army, 96 

Lieutenant Duvall, signal corps, 36 

James Sloan, major and chief of stafi", 27 

General Brettler, staff cavalry, 9 . 

General Logan, staff cavahy, 6 

Captain E. M. HoUoway, commanding escort, . . . .76 

J. F. Caldwell, telegraph corps, 21 

Captain \Y. Quirk, provost guard, 61 

Captain West, camp of instruction, 106 

Captain Brickner, 46 

Isaiah Yorkeman, 1 

Major Shannon, 65 

Dr. Hines, post hospital, 10 

J. Hammon, 13 

Captain Harris, artillerists, 120 

Colonel Park, invalid corps, 7 

Surgeon E. W. Jolus, ^ 13 

Captain A. Cammack, acting quartermaster, 5 

Captain H. P. Abell, 126 

Captain J. P. Yates, 97 

Captain A. A. Mosly, Palmer's battalion, 41 

Major Johnson, officers engineer corps, 28 

Lieutenant McGuire, mounted infantry, 36 

Lieutenant Colonel Sharr, field and staff, artillery, . . • ^ 57 

Major Morris, brigade, \ 

Brigadier General Herbert, . . . . . . . .3 

Captain Southerland, artillery, 87 

Captain Badham, 68 

Major Maye, 3 

Captain Kelly, artillery, Colonel Stor, 100 



I 



APPENDIX. 



893 



Bank. 

Captain Ellis, artillery, Colonel Stor, 

J. V. Darden, artillery, Colonel Stor, .... 

Major Pregnesert, commissary department. 

Major H. 13. McClellan, cavalry headquarters, 

Captain William AVallace, post commander. 

Colonel E. J. Ilarvie, army headquarters. 

Surgeon John Closter, 

Lieutenant Colonel Gougates, Hardee's chief of artillery, 
Colonel Coifer, assistant, and the provost marshal, . 

Daniel Morgan, 

Lieutenant Colonel Clew, horse artillery, . 

Lieutenant M. L. Stevenson, 

Surgeon O. H. Moore, hospital patients, Greensboro', 

Lieutenant H. Hometer, 

Lieutenant Colonel W. W. Wien, .... 



No. 



of Men. 

53 

. 18 

44 

. 61 

154 

. 170 

4 

. 8 

245 

. 37 

26 

. 1 

735 

. 1 

1 



Among the paroled prisoners is the notorious pirate Semmes, and 
Commodores Lynch and Forrest. These naval heroes, looking upon 
discretion as the better part of valor, gave up the sea for the secure 
quiet of domestic life. Another officer paroled was the notorious 
Major Gilchrist, who boasts that the first shot of the war was fired by 
him at the Star of the West, in Charleston Harbor. 

General Johnston was not formally paroled. He simply pledged 
his verbal parole to General Sherman. 



IV. 



GENEKAL SHERMAN'S TESTIMONY BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON 
THE WAR. 

Major General Sherman being sworn and examined : — 
Bij the Chairman. — Q. What is your rank in the army ? A. I am 
major general in the regular army. 

Q. As your negotiation with the rebel General Johnston in relation 
to his surrender has been the subject of much public comment, the 
committee desire you to state all the facts and cu'cumstances in regard 
to it, or wliich you wish the public to know. A. On the 15th day of 
April last I was at Raleigh, in command of three armies : the army of 
the Ohio, the army of the Cumberland, and the army of the Tennes- 
see ; my enemy was General Joseph E. Johnston, of the Confederate 
army, who commanded fifty thousand men, retreating along the rail- 
road from Raleigh by Hillsboro', Greensboro', Salisbury, and Char- 



394 Sherman's march through the south. 

lotte ; I commenced pursuit by crossing the curve of that road in the 
direction of Ashboro' and Charlotte ; after the head of my column had 
crossed the Cape Fear Paver at Aven's Ferry, I received a communica- 
tion from General Johnston, and answered it, copies of which I most 
promptly sent to the war department, with a letter addressed to the 
secretary of M'ar, as follows : — 

Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi, ) 
in the Field, llaleigh, N. C, April 15, 18G5. | 

General U. S. Grant and Secretary of War : I send copies of a 
correspondence to you with General Johnston, which I think will be 
followed by terms of capitulation. I will grant the same terms General 
Grant gave General Lee, and be careful not to complicate any points 
of civil policy. If any cavalry has retreated towards me, caution them 
to be prepared to find our work done. It is now raining in torrents, 
and I shall await General Johnston's reply here, and will prepare to 
meet him in person at Chapel Hill. 

I have invited Governor Vance to return to Raleigh, with the civil 
officers of his state. I have met Ex-Governor Graham, Messrs. Bad- 
ger, Moore, Holden, and ctliers, all of whom agree that the war is over, 
and that the states of the south must resume their allegiance, subject 
to the constitution and laws of Congress, and must submit to the na- 
tional arms. This great fact was admitted, and the details are of easy 
arrangement. « 

W. T. Sherman, Major General. 

I met General Johnston in person at a house five miles from Dur- 
ham Station, under a flag of truce. After a few preliminary remarks, 
he said to me, since Lee had surrendered his army at Appomattox 
Court-house, of which he had just been advised, he Jooked upon further 
opposition by him as the greatest possible of crimes ; that he wanted 
to know whether I could make him any general concessions — any- 
thing by which he could maintain his hold and control of his ai'my, 
and prevent its scattering ; anything to satisfy the great yearning of 
their people ; if so, he thought he could arrange terms satisfactory to 
both parties. He wanted to embrace the condition and fate of all the 
armies of the southern Confederacy to the Rio Grande, — to make one 
job of it, as he termed it. 

I asked him what his powers were — whether he could command and 
control the fate of all the armies to the Rio Grande. He answered 
that he thought he could obtain the power, but he did not possess it at 
that moment ; he did not know where Mr. Davis was, but he thought 
if I could give him the time he could find Mr. Breckinridge, whose 
orders would be obeyed everywhere, and he could pledge to me his 
personal faith that whatever he undertook to do would be done. 



I 



APPENDIX. 395 

I had had frequent correspondence with the late president of the 
United States, with tlie secretary of war, with General Ilalleck, and 
with General Grant, and the general impression left upon my mind, 
that if a settlement could be made, consistent with the constitution of 
the United States, the laws of Congress, and the proclamation of the 
president, they would not only be willing, but pleased, to terminate the 
war by one single stroke of the pen. 

I needed time to finish tlije railroad from the Neuse Bridge up to 
Raleigh, and thought I could put in four or five days of good time in 
making repairs to my road, even if I had to send propositions to 
Washington; I therefore consented to delay twenty-four hours, to 
enable General Johnston to procure what would satisfy me as to his 
authority and ability, as a military man, to do what he undertook to 
do ; I therefore consented to meet liim the next day, the 17th, at 
12 noon, at the same place. 

We did meet again. After a general interchange of courtesies, he 
remarked that he was then prepared' to satisfy me that he could fulfil 
the terms of our conversation of the day before. He then asked me 
what I was willing to do ; I told him, in the fii'st place, I could not deal 
with anybody except men recognized by us as " belligerents," because 
no military man could go beyond that fact. The attorney general has 
since so decided, and any man of common sense so understood it be- 
fore ; there was no difference upon that point as to the men and 
ofiicers accompanying the Confederate armies. I told him that the 
president of the United States, by a published proclamation, had en- 
abled every man in the southern Confederate army, of the rank of 
colonel and under, to procure and obtain amnesty, by simply taking 
the oath of allegiance to the United States, and agreeing to go to his 
home and live in peace. The terms of General Grant to General Lee 
extended the same principles to the ofiicers, of the rank of brigadier 
general and upward, including the highest officer in the Confederate 
army, viz., General Lee, the commander-in-cliief. I was therefore 
willing to proceed with him upon the same principles. 

Then a conversation arose as to what form of government they were 
to have in the south. Were the states there to be dissevered, and 
were the people to be denied representation in Congress ? Were the 
people there to be, in the common language of the people of the south, 
slaves to the people of the north ? Of course I said, " No ; we desire 
that you shall regain your position as citizens of the United States, 
free and equal to us in all respects, and wish representation upon the 
condition of submission to the lawful authority of the United States as 



396 Sherman's march through the south. 

defined by the constitution, the United States courts, and the authori- 
ties of 'the United States supported by those courts." He then 
remarked to me that General Breckinridge, a major general in the 
Confederate army, was near by, and, if I had no objection, he would 
like to have him present. I called his attention to the fact, that I had 
on the day before explained to him that any negotiations between us 
must be confined to belligerents. He replied that he understood that 
perfectly. " But," said he, " Breckinridge, whom you do not know, 
save by public rumor, as secretary of war, is, in fact, a major general ; 
I give you my word for that. Have you any objection to his being 
present as a major general?" I replied, " I have no objection to any 
military officer you desire being present as a part of your personal 
staff." I myself had my own officers near me at call. 

Breckinridge came a stranger to me, whom I had never spoken to in 
my life, and he joined in the conversation. While that conversation 
was going on, a courier arrived and handed to General Johnston a 
package of papers ; he and Breckinridge sat down and looked over 
them for some time, and put them away in their pockets ; what they 
were I know not, but one of them was a slip of paper, written, as 
General Johnston told me, by Mr. Reagan, postmaster general of the 
southern Confederacy ; they seemed to talk about it sotto voce, and 
finally handed it to me ; I glanced over it ; it was preceded by a pre- 
amble, and closed with a few general terms. I rejected it at once. 

We then discussed matters ; talked about slavery, talked about ev- 
erything. There was a universal assent that slavery was as dead as 
anything could be ; that it was one of the issues of the war long since 
determined ; and even General Johnston laughed at the folly of the 
Confederate government in raising negro soldiers, whereby they gave 
us all the points of the case. I told them that slavery had been 
treated by us as a dead institution, first by one class of men from the 
initiation of the war, and then from the date of the emancipation 
proclamation of President Lincoln, and finally by the assent of all 
parties. As to the reconstruction, I told them I did not know what 
the views of the administration were. Mr. Lincoln, up to that time, 
in letters and by telegrams to me, encouraged me by all the words 
which could be used in general terms to believe, not only in his willing- 
ness, but in his desu-es, that I should make terms with civil authorities, 
governors, and legislatures, even as far back as 1863. It then occurred 
to me that I might write off some general propositions, meaning little, 
or meaning much, according to the construction of parties, — what I 
would term " glittering generalities," — and send them to Washington, 



APPENDIX. 897 

■which I could do in four days. That would enable the new president 
to give me a clew to his policy in the important juncture which was 
then upon us, for the war was over ; the highest military authorities 
of the southern Confederacy so confessed to me openly, unconcealedly, 
and repeatedly. I therefore drew up the memorandum (which has 
been published to the world), for the purpose of referring it to the 
proper executive authority of the United States, and enabling him to 
define to me what I might promise, simply to cover the pride of the 
southern men, who thereby became subordinate to the laws of the 
United States, civil and military. I made no concessions to General 
Johnston's army or the troops under his direction and immediate con- 
trol ; and if any concessions were made in those general terms, they 
were made because I then believed, and now believe, they would have 
delivered into the hands of the United States the absolute control of 
every Confederate officer and soldier, all their muster-rolls, and all 
their arms. It would save us all the incidental expense resulting from 
the military occupation of that country by provost marshals, provost 
guards, military governors, and all the machinery by which alone mili- 
tary power can reach the people of a civilized country. It would have 
surrendered to us the armies of Dick Taylor and Kirby Smith, both 
of them capable of doing infinite mischief to us by exhausting the 
resources^ of the whole country upon which we were to depend for the 
future extinguishment of our debt, forced upon us by their wrongful 
and rebellious conduct. I never designed to shelter a human being 
from any liability incurred in consequence of past acts to the civil 
tribunals of our country ; and I do not believe a fair and manly inter- 
pretation of my terms can so construe them ; for the words " United 
States courts," "United States authorities," " limitations of executive 
power," occur in every paragraph. And if they seemingly yield terms 
better than the public would desire to be given to the southern people, 
if studied closely and well it will be found that there is an absolute 
submission on then- part to the government of the United States, either 
through its executive, legislative, or judicial authorities. Every step 
in the programme of these negotiations was reported punctually, 
clearly, and fully, by the most rapid means of communication that I 
had. And yet I neglected not one single precaution necessary to reap 
the full benefits of my position in case the government amended, 
altered, or absolutely annulled those terms. As those matters were 
necessarily mingled with the military history of the period, I would 
like at this point to submit to the committee my official report, which 
has been in the hands of the proper officer, Brigadier General Raw- 
34 



398 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

lings, chief of staff of the army of the United States, since about the 
12th instdnt. It was made by me at Manchester, Virginia, after I had 
returned from Savannah, Avhither I went to open up the Savannah 
River and reap the fruits of my Negotiations^ with General Johnston, 
and to give General Wilson's force in the interior a safe and sure base 
from which he could AiOw the necessary supply of clothing and food 
for his command. It was only after I had fulfilled all this that I 
learned, for the first time, through the public press, that my conduct 
had been animadverted upon, not only by the secretary of war, but by 
General Halleck, and the press of the country at large. I did feel 
hurt and annoyed that Mr. Stanton coupled with the terms of my 
memorandum, confided to him, a copy of a telegram to General Grant 
which he had never sent to me. He knew, on the contrary, that, 
when he was at Savannah, I had negotiations with civil pai-ties 
there, for he was present in my room when those parties were confer- 
ring with me, and I wrote him a letter setting forth many points of it, 
in which I said I aimed to make a split in Jeff Davis's dominions, by 
segregating Georgia from their course. Those were civil negotiations, 
and, far from being discouraged from making them, I was encouraged 
by Secretary Stanton himself to make them. 

By coupling the note to General Grant with my memorandum, he 
gave the world fairly and clearly to infer that I was in possession of it. 
Now, I was not in possession of it, and I have reason to know that 
Mr. Stanton knew I was not in possession of it. Next met me Gen- 
eral Ilalleck's telegram, indorsed by Mr. Stanton, in which they publicly 
avowed an act of perfidy, namely, the violation of my terms, which I 
had a right to make, and which, by the laws of war and by the laws of 
Congress, is punishable by death, and no other punishment. Next, 
they ordered an army to pursue my enemy, who was knov»'n to be sur- 
rendering to me, in the presence of General Grant himself, their 
superior officer ; and, finally, they sent orders to General Wilson and 
to General Thomas, my subordinates, acting under me on a plan of the 
most magnificent scale, admirably executed, to defeat my orders, and 
to thwart the interests of the government of the United States. I 
did feel indignant ; I do feel indignant. As to my honor, I can pro- 
tect it. In my letter of the loth of April I used this language: "I 
have invited Governor Vance to return to Raleigh, with the civil ofli- 
cers of his state." I did so because President Lincoln had himself 
encouraged me to a similar course with the governor of Georgia when 
I was in Atlanta. And here was the opportunity which the secretary 
of war should have taken to put me on my guard against making terms 



APPENDIX. 399 

with civil authorities, if such were the settled policy of our government. 
Had President Lincoln lived, I know he would have sustained me. 

The following is my report, which I desire to have incorporated into 
and made part of my testimony : — 

Headquarters of the Military Division of the Mississippi, ) 
in the Field, City Point, Virginia, May 9, 18G5. ) 

General : My last official report brought the history of events, as 
connected with the armies in the field subject to my immediate com- 
mand, down to the 1st of April, when the army of the Ohio, Major 
General J. _M. Schofield commanding, lay at Goldsboro', with detach- 
ments distributed so as to secure and cover our routes of communica- 
tion and supply back to the sea at Wilmington and IMorehead city ; 
Major General A. H. Terry, with the 10th corps, being at Faison's 
Depot ; the army of the Tennessee, Major General O. O. Howard 
commanding, was encamped to the right and front of Goldsboro', and 
the army of Georgia, Major General H. W. Slocum commanding, to 
its left and front ; the cavalry. Brevet Major General J. Kilpatrick 
commanding, at Mount Olive. All were busy in repairing the wear 
and tear of our then recent and hard march from Savannah, and in 
replenishing clothing and stores necessary for a further progress. 

I had previously, by letter and in person, notified the Lieutenant 
General commanding the armies of the United States, that the 10th 
of April would be the earliest possible moment at which I could hope 
to have all things in readiness, and we were compelled to use our rail- 
roads to the very highest possible limit in order to fulfil that promise. 
Owing to a mistake in the raih-oad department in sending locomotives 
and cars of the five-foot gauge, we were limited to the use of the few 
locomotives and cars of the four foot eight and a half inch gauge 
already in North Carolina, with such of the old stock as was captured 
by Major General Terry at Wilmington and on his way up to Golds- 
boro*. Yet such judicious use was made of these, and such industry 
displayed in the railroad management, by Generals Easton and Beck- 
with, and Colonel AVright and Mr. Van l)yne, that by the 10th of April 
our men were all reclad, the wagons reloaded, and a fair amount of 
forage accumulated ahead. 

In the mean time. Major General George Stoneman, in command of 
a division of cavalry operating from East Tennessee in connection with 
Major General George H. Thomas, in pursuance of my orders of Jan- 
uary 21, 1865, had reached the railroad about Greensboro', North 
Carolina, and had made sad havoc with it, and had pushed along it to 
Salisbury, destroying en route bridges, culverts, depots, and all kinds 
of rebel supplies, and had extended the break in the railroad down to 
the Catawba Bridge. 

This was fatal to the hostile armies of Lee and Johnston, who de- 
pended on that road for supplies, and as their ultimate line of retreat. 
Major General J. H. Wilson, also in command of the cavalry corps 
organized by himself under special field orders No. — , of October 24, 
1864, at Gaylesville, Alabama, had started from the neighborhood of 



400 sheeman's march through the south. 

Decatur and Florence, Alabama, and moved straight into the heart of 
Alabama, on a route prescribed for General Thomas after he had 
defeated General Hood at Nashville, Tennessee ; but the roads being 
too heavy for infantry, General Thomas had devolved that duty on that 
most energetic young cavalry officer, General Wilson, who, imbued 
with the proper spirit, has struck one of the best . blows of the war at 
the waning strength of the Confederacy. His route was one never 
before touched by our troops, and afforded him abundance of supplies 
as long as he was in motion, namely, by Tuscaloosa, Selma, Mont- 
gomery, Columbus, and Macon. Though in communication with him, 
I have not been able to receive, as yet, liis full and detailed reports, 
which will in due time be published and appreciated. Lieutenant 
General Grant, also in immediate command of the armies about Rich- 
mond, had taken the initiative in that magnificent campaign, which, in 
less than ten days, compelled the evacuation of Richmond, and result- 
ed in the destruction and surrender of the entire rebel army of Virginia 
under command of General Lee. 

The news of the battles about Petersburg reached me at Goldsboro' 
on the 6th of April. Up to that time my purpose was to move rapidly 
northward, feigning on Raleigh and striliing straight for Burkesville, 
thereby interposing between Johnston and Lee. But the auspicious 
events in Virginia had changed the whole military problem, and, in the 
expressive language of Lieutenant General Grant, " the Confederate 
armies of Lee and Johnston " became the " strategic points." General 
Grant was fully able to take care of the former, and my task was to 
capture or destroy the latter. Johnston at that tim.e, April 6, had 
his army well in hand about Smithfield, interposing between me and 
Raleigh. I estimated liis infantry and artillery at thirty-five thousand, 
and his cavalry from six thousand to ten thousand. He was superior 
to me in cavalry, so that I held General Kilpatrick in reserve at Mount 
Olive, with orders to recruit his horses, and be ready to make a sudden 
and rapid march on the 10th of April. 

At daybreak of the day appointed, all the heads of columns were in 
motion straight against the enemy, — Major General H. W. Slocum 
taking the two direct roads for Smithfield ; Major General O. O. How- 
ard making a circuit by the right, and feigning up the Weldon road to 
disconcert the enemy's cavalry ; Generals Terry and Kilpatrick moving 
on the west side of the Neuse River, and aiming to reach the rear of 
the enemy between Smithfield and Raleigh. General Schofield fol- 
lowed General Slocum in support. 

All the columns met, within six miles of Goldsboro', more or less 
cavalry, with the usual rail barricades, which were swept before us as 
chaff", and by 10 A. M. of the 11th, the 14th corps entered Smithfield, 
the 20th corps close at hand. Johnston had rapidly retreated across 
the Neuse River, and, having his railroad to lighten up his trains, 
could retreat faster than we could pursue. The rains had also set in, 
making the resort to corduroy absolutely necessary to pass even ambu- 
lances. The enemy had burned the bridge at Smithfield, and as soon 
as possible Major General Slocum got up his pontoons and crossed 
over a division of the 14th corps. We there heard of the surrender 



APPENDIX. 401 

of Lee's army at Appomattox Court-house, Virginia, which was an- 
nounced to the armies in orders, and created universal joy. Not an 
officer or soldier of my armies but expressed a pride and satisfaction 
that it fell to the lot of the armies of the Potomac and James so 
gloriously to overwhelm and capture the entire army that had held 
them so long in check, and their success gave new impulse to finish up 
our task. Without a moment's hesitation we dropped our trains and 
marched rapidly in pursuit to and through Raleigh, reaching that place 
at 7.30 A. M. of the 13th, in a heavy rain. The next day the cavalry 
pushed on through the rain to Durham's Station, the 15th corps fol- 
lowing as far as Morrisville Station, and the 17th corps to Jones's 
Station. On the supposition that Johnston was tied to his railroad as 
a line of retreat by Hillsboro', Greensboro', Salisbury, Charlotte, &c., 
I had turned the other columns across the bend of that road towards 
Ashboro'. (See Special Field Orders, No. 55.) The cavalry, Brevet 
Major General J. Kilpatrick commanduig, was ordered to keep up a 
show of pursuit towards the " Company's Shops," in Alamance County; 
Major General O. O. Howard to turn to the left by Hackney's Cross- 
roads, Pittsboro', St. Lawrence, and Ashboro'; Major General H. W. 
Slocum to cross Cape Fear Piver at Aven's Ferry, and move rapidly 
by Carthage, Caledonia, and Cox's Mills ; Major General J. M. Scho- 
field was to hold Raleigh and the road back, and with his spare force 
to follow an intermediate route. 

By the 15th, though the rains were incessant and the roads almost 
impracticable, Major General Slocum had the 14th corps, Brevet Major 
General Davis commanding, near Martha's Vineyard, with a pontoon 
bridge laid across Cape Fear River at Aven's Ferry, with the 20th 
corps, Major General Mower commanding, in support; and Major Gen- 
eral Howard had the 15th and 17th corps stretched out on the roads 
towards Pittsboro', while General Kilpatrick held Durham's Station 
and Chapel Hill University. 

Johnston's army was retreating rapidly on the roads from Hillsboro" 
to Greensboro', he himself at Greensboro'. Although out of place as 
to time, I here invite all mihtary critics who study the problems of war 
to take their maps and compare the position of my army on the loth 
and 16th of April with that of General Halleck about Burkesville and 
Petersburg, Virginia, on the 26th of April, when, according to his tele- 
gram to Secretary Stanton, he offered to relieve me of the task of 
" cutting off Johnston's retreat." Major General Stoneman at the time 
was at Statesville, and Johnston's only line of retreat was by Sahsbury 
and Charlotte. It may be that General Halleck's troops can outmarch 
mine, but there is nothing in their past history to show it ; or it may 
be that General Halleck can inspire his troops with more energy of 
action. I doubt that also, save and except in this single instance, when 
he knew the enemy was ready to surrender or disperse, as advised by 
my letter of April 18th, addressed to him when chief of stafl" at Wash- 
ington city, and delivered at W^ashington on the 21st instant by Major 
Hitchcock of my staff. 

Thus matters stood at the time I received General Johnston's first 
letter, and made my answer of April 14, copies of which were sent 
34^' 



402 Sherman's march through the south. 

with all expedition to Lieutenant General Grant and the secretary of 
war. with' my letter of April 15. I agreed to meet General Johnston 
in person at a point intermediate between our pickets on the 17th at 
noon, provided the position of the troops remained stcdu quo. I was 
both willing and anxious thus to consume a few days, as it would 
enable Colonel Wright to finish our railroad to Raleigh. 

Two bridges had to be built, and twelve miles of new road made. 
"VVe had no iron except by taking up that on the branch from Golds- 
boro' to Weldon. Instead of losing by time, I gained in every way ; 
for every hour of delay possible was required to reconstruct the rail- 
road to our rear and improve the condition of our wagon roads to the 
front, so desirable in case tlie negotiations failed and we be forced to 
make the race of near two hundred miles to head off or catch John- 
ston's army, then retreating towards Charlotte. 

At noon of the day appointed, I met General Johnston for the first 
time in my life, although we had been interchanging shots constantly 
since May, 1863. 

Our interview was frank and soldier-like, and he gave me to under- 
stand that further war on the part of the Confederate troops was folly, 
that the cause was lost, and that every life sacrificed after the surrender 
of Lee's army was the " highest possible crime." He admitted that 
the terms conceded to General Lee were magnanimous, and all he 
could ask ; but he did want some general concessions that would enable 
him to allay the natural fears and anxieties of his followers, and enable 
him to maintain his control over them until they could be got back to 
the neighborhood of their homes, thereby saving the State of North 
Carolina the devastations inevitably to result from turning his men 
loose and unprovided on the spot, and our pursuit across the state. 

He also wanted to embrace in the same general proposition the fate 
of all the Confederate armies that remained in existence. I never 
made any concession as to his own army, or assumed to deal finally 
and authoritatively in regard to any other ; but it did seem to me that 
there was presented a chance for peace that might be deemed valuable 
to the government of the United States, and was at least worth the 
few days that would be consumed in reference. 

To push an army whose commander had so frankly and honestly 
confessed his inability to cope with me were cowardly, and unworthy 
the brave men I led. 

Inasmuch as General Johnston did not feel authorized to pledge his 
power over the armies in Texas, we adjourned to meet the next day 
at noon. I returned to Raleigh, and conferred freely with all my 
general officers, every one of whom urged me to conclude terms that 
might accomplish so complete and desirable an end. All dreaded the 
weary and laborious march after a fugitive and dissolving army back 
towards Georgia, almost over the very country where we had toiled so 
long. 

1 here was but one opinion expressed ; and, if contrary ones were 
entertained, they were withheld, or indulged in only by that class who 
shun the fight and the march, but are loudest, bravest, and fiercest 
when danger is past. 



APPENDIX. 403 

I again met General Johnston on the 18th, and we renewed the con- 
versation. He satisfied me then of his power to disband the rebel 
armies in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, as well as those 
in his immediate command, namely, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Florida, and Georgia. 

The points on which he expressed especial solicitude were, lest their 
states were to be dismembered and denied representation in Congress, 
or any separate political existence whatever, and that the absolute 
disarming his men would leave the south powerless, and exposed to 
depredations by wicked bands of assassins and robbers. 

President Lincoln's message of 1864 ; his amnesty proclamation ; 
General Grant's terms to General Lee, substantially extending the 
benefits of that proclamation to all officers above the rank of colonel ; 
the invitation to the Virginia legislature to reassemble in Richmond 
by General Weitzel, with the approval of Mr. Lincoln and General 
Grant, then on the spot ; a firm belief that I had been fighting to re- 
establish the constitution of the United States ; and last, and not 
least, the general and universal desire to close a war any longer with- 
out organized resistance, were the leading facts that induced me to 
pen the '* memorandum " of April 18, signed by myself and General 
Johnston. 

It was designed to be, and so expressed on its face, as a mere 
" basis " for reference to the president of the United States and con- 
stitutional commander-in-chief, to enable him, if he chose, at one 
blow to dissipate the military power of the Confederacy which had 
threatened the national safety for years. It admitted of modification, 
alteration, and change. It had no appearance of an ultimatum, and 
by no false reasoning can it be construed into a usurpation of power 
on my part. I have my opinions on the questions involved, and will 
stand by the memorandum ; but this forms no part of a military 
report. Immediately on my return to Raleigh I despatched one of my 
staff — Major Hitchcock — to Washington, enjoining him to be most 
prudent and careful to avoid the spies and informers that v.ould be 
sure to infest him by the way, and to say nothing to anybody, until 
the president could make known to me his wishes and poUcy in the 
matter. 

The news of President Lincoln's assassination on the 14th of April 
(wrongly reported to me by telegraph as having occurred on the 11th) 
reached' me on the 17th, and was announced to my command on the 
same day in Special Field Orders, No. 5G. I was duly impressed with 
its horrible atrocity and probable efiect upon the country ; but when 
the property and interests of milHons still living Avere involved, I saw 
no good reason to change my course, but thought rather to manifest 
real respect for his memory, by following, after his death, that pohcy 
■which, if living, I feel certain he would have approved, or, at least, 
not rejected with disdain. Up to that hour I had never received one 
word of instruction, advice, or counsel as to the " plan or policy " of 
government, looking to a restoration of peace on the part of the rebel 
states of the south. Whenever asked for an opinion on the points 
involved, I had always evaded the subject. My letter to the mayor of 



404 Sherman's march through the south. 

Atlanta has been published to the world, and I was not rebuked by 
the war'department for it. 

My letter to ISIr. N W , at Savannah, was shown by me to 

Mr. Stanton before its publication, and all that my memory retains of 
his answer is, that he said,- like my letters generally, it was sufficiently 
" emphatic, and could not be misunderstood." 

But these letters asserted my belief that, according to Mr. Lincoln's 
proclamations and messages, when the people of the south had laid 
down their arms and submitted to the lawful power of the United 
States, ipso facto the war was over as to them ; and, furthermore, 
that if any state in rebellion would conform to the constitution of the 
United States, " cease war," elect senators and representatives to Con- 
gress, if admitted (of which each House of Congress alone is the 
judge), that state became instant er as much in the Union as New 
York or Ohio. Nor Avas I rebuked for this expression, though it was 
universally known and commented on at the time. And again, Mr. 
Stanton in person, at Savannah, speaking of the terrific expenses of 
the war, and difficulty of realizing the money necessary for the daily 
wants of government, impressed me most forcibly with the necessity 
of bringing the war to a close as soon as possible, for financial 
reasons. 

On the evening of April 23, Major Hitchcock reported his return 
to Morehead city with despatches, of which fact General Johnston, at 
Hillsboro', was notified, so as to be ready in the morning for an 
answer. At G o'clock A. M. on the 24th, Major Hitchcock arrived, 
accompanied by General Grant and members of his staff, who had not 
telegraphed the fact of his coming over our exposed road for pru- 
dential reasons. 

I soon learned that the memorandum was disapproved, without 
reasons assigned, and I was ordered to give the forty-eight hours' 
notice, and resume hostilities at the close of that time, governing 
myself by the substance of a despatch then enclosed, dated March 3, 
12 noon, at Washington, District of Columbia, from Secretary Stan- 
ton to General Grant, at City Point, but not accompanied by any part 
of the voluminous matter so liberally lavished on the public in the 
New York journals of the 24th of April. That was the first and only 
time I ever saw that telegram, or had one word of instruction on the 
important matter involved in it ; and it does seem strange to me that 
every bar-room loafer in New York can read in the morning journals 
" official " matter that is withheld from a general whose command 
extends from Kentucky to North Carolina. 

Within an hour a courier was riding from Durham's Station towards 
Hillsboro', with notice to General Johnston of the suspension of the 
truce, and renewing my demand for the surrender of the armies under 
his immediate command (see two letters, April 24, 6 A. M.), and at 
12 noon, I had the receij:;t of his picket officer. I therefore published 
my Orders, No. 62, to the troops, terminating the truce at 12 M. on 
the 2Gth, and ordered all to be in readiness to march at that hour on 
the routes prescribed in Special Field Order, No. bd, April 14, from 
the positions held April 18. 



APPENDIX. 405 

General Grant had orders from the president, through the secretary 
of war, to^ direct military movements, and I explained to him the 
exact position of the troops, and he approved of it most emphatically ; 
but he did not relieve me, or express a wish to assume command. All 
thinf^s were in readiness, when, on the evening, of the 25th, I received 
anothsr letter from General Johnston, asking another interview to 
renew negotiations. 

General Grant not only approved, but urged me to accept ; and I 
appointed a meeting at our former place at noon of the 26th, the very 
hour fixed for the renewal of hostilities. General Johnston was 
delayed by an accident to his train, but at 2 P. M. arrived. Vie then 
consulted, concluded, and signed the final terms of capitulation. 

These were taken by me back to Raleigh, submitted to General 
Grant, and met his immediate approval and signature. General John- 
ston was not even aware of the presence of General Grant at Raleigh 
at the time. 

Thus was surrendered to us the second great army of the so-called 
Confederacy; and though undue importance has been given to the 
so-called negotiations which preceded it, and a rebuke and public dis- 
favor cast on me wholly unwarranted . by the facts, I rejoice in saying 
it was accomplished without farther ruin and devastation to the coun- 
try, without the loss of a single life to those gallant men who had 
followed me from the Mississippi to the Atlantic, and without sub- 
jecting brave men to the ungracious task of pursuing a fleeing foe 
that did not vv'ant to fight. As for myself, I know my motives, and 
challenge the instance during the past four years, where an armed and 
defiant foe stood before me, that I did not go in for a fight ; and I 
would blush for shame if I had ever insulted or struck a fallen foe. 
The instant the terms of surrender were approved by General Grant, 
I made my Orders, No. 65, assigning to each of my subordinate com- 
manders his share of the work, and, with General Grant's approval, 
made Special Field Orders, No. 66, putting in motion my old army 
(no longer required in Carolina) northward for Richmond. General 
Grant left Raleigh at 9 A. M. of the 27th, and I glory in the fact that 
during liis three days' stay with me, I did not detect in his language 
or manner one particle of abatement in the confidence, respect, and 
afi'ection that have existed between us throughout all the varied events 
of the past war ; and, though we have honestly differed in opinion, in 
other cases as well as this, still we respected each other's honest 
convictions. 

I still adhere to my then opinions, that by a few general conces- 
sions, " glittering generalities," all of which in the end must and will 
be conceded to the organized states of the south, that this day there 
would not be an armed battalion opposed to us within the broad area 
of the dominions of the United States. Robbers and assassins must, 
in any event, result from the disbandment of large armies ; but even 
these should be, and could be, taken care of by the local civil author- 
ities, without being made a charge on the national treasury. 

On the evening of the 28th, having concluded all business requiring 
my personal attention at Raleigh, and havmg conferred with every 



406 Sherman's march through the south. 

army commander, and delegated to him the aiitliority necessary for 
his futufe action, I despatched my headquarter vagons by land, along 
with the 17th corps, the office in charge of General Webster, from 
Newbern, to Alexandria, Virginia, by sea, and in person, accompanied 
only by my personal staff, hastened to Savannah, to direct matters in 
the interior of South Carolina and Georgia. I had received across 
the rebel telegi'aph wires cipher despatches from General "Wilson, at 
Macon, to the effect that he was in receipt of my Orders, No. Co, 
and would send General Upton's division to Augusta, and General 
McCook's division to Tallahassee, to receive the surrender of those 
garrisons, take charge of the public property, and execute the paroles 
required by the terms of surrender. He reported a sufficiency of 
forage for his horses in South-west Georgia, but asked me to send 
him a supply of clothing, sugar, coffee, &c., by way of Augusta, 
Georgia, whence he could get it by rail. I therefore went rapidly to 
Goldsboro' and Wilmington, reaching the latter city at 10 A. M. of 
the 29th, and the same day embarked for Hilton Head in the blockade 
runner " Russia," Captain A. M. Smith. I found General Q. A. Gill- 
more, commanding department of the south, at Hilton Head, on the 
evening of April 30, and ordered him to send to Augusta at once 
what clothing and small stores he could spare for General Wilson, and 
to open up a line of certain communication and sup])ly with him at 
Macon. A-^^thin an hour the captured steamboats *' Jeff Davis " and 
" Amazon," both adapted to the shallow and crool^ed navigation of 
the Savannah River, were being loaded, the one at Savannah and the 
other at Hilton Head. The former started up the river on the 1st of 
May, in charge of a very intelligent officer (whose name I cannot 
recall) and forty-eight men, — all the boat could carry, — with orders 
to occupy temporarily the United States Arsenal at Augusta, and open 
up communication with General Wilson at Macon, in the event that 
General McCook's division of cavalry was not already there. The 
" Amazon " followed next day, and General Gillmore had made the 
necessary orders for a brigade of infantry, to be commanded by Gen- 
eral Molyneaux, to follow by a land march to Augusta as its permanent 
garrison. Another brigade of infantry was ordered to occupy Orange- 
burg, South Carolina, the point farthest in the interior that can at 
present be reached by rail from the sea coast (Charleston). 

On the 1st of May I went on to Savannah, where General Gillmore 
also joined me, and the arrangements ordered for the occupation of 
Augusta were consummated. 

At Savannah I found the city in the most admirable police, under 
direction of Brevet Major General Grover, and the citizens manifested 
the most unqualified joy to hear that, so far as they were concerned, 
the war was over. All classes, Union men as well as former rebels, 
did not conceal, however, the apprehensions naturally arising from a 
total ignorance of the political conditions to be attached to their future 
state. Anything at all would be preferable to this dread uncertainty. 

On the evening of the 2d of May I retui-ned to Hilton Head, and 
there, for the fu-st time, received the New York papers of April 28, 
containing Secretary Stanton's despatch of 9 A. M. of the 27th of 



APPENDIX. 407 

April to General Dix, including General Halleck's, from Kichmond, 
of 9 P. M. of the night before, which seems to have been rushed with 
extreme haste before an excited public, namely, morning of the 2Sth. 
You will observe from the dates that these despatches were running 
back and forth from Richmond and Washington to New York, and 
there published, while General Grant and I were together in Ilaleigh, 
North Carolina, adjusting, to the best of our ability, the terms of 
surrender of the only remaining formidable rebel army in existence at 
the time east of the Mississippi River. Not one word of intimation had 
been sent to me of the displeasure of the government with my official 
conduct, but only the naked disapproval of a skeleton memorandum 
sent properly for the action of the president of the United States. 

The most objectionable features of my memorandum .had already 
(April 24) been published to the world, in violation of official usage, 
and the contents of my accompanying letters- to General Ilalleck, 
General Grant, and Mr. Stanton, of even date, though at hand, were 
suppressed. 

In all these letters I had stated clearly and distinctly that John- 
ston's army would not fight, but, if pushed, would " disband " and 
" scatter " into small and dangerous guerrilla parties, as injurious to 
the interests of the United States as to the rebels themselves ; that 
all parties admitted that the rebel cause of the south was abandoned, 
that the negro was free, and that the temj^er of all was most favorable 
to a lasting peace. I say all these opinions of mine were withheld 
from the public with a seeming purpose ; and I do contend that my 
official experience and former services, as well as my past life and 
familiarity with the people and geography of the south, entitled my 
opinions to at least a decent respect. 

Although this despatch (Mr. Stanton's of April 27) was printed 
" official," it had come to me only in the questionable newspaper para- 
graph headed, ♦* Sherman's Truce Disregarded." 

I had already done what General Wilson wanted me to do, namely, 
had sent him supplies of clothing and food, with clear and distinct 
orders and instructions hov/ to carry out, in Western Georgia, the 
terms for the surrender of arms and paroling of prisoners, made by 
General Johnston's capitulation of April 26, and had properly and 
most opportunely ordered General Gillmore to occupy Orangeburg 
and Augusta, strategic points of great value at all times, in peace or 
war } but, as the secretary had taken upon himself to order my sub- 
ordinate generals to disobey my *' orders," I explained to General 
Gillmore that I would no longer'confuse him or General \V ilson with 
" orders " that might conflict wdth those of the secretary, which, as 
reported, were sent, not through me, but in open disregard of me and 
of my lawful authority. 

It now becomes my duty to pamt in justly severe character the still 
more offensive and dangerous matter of General Halleck's despatch 
of April 20 to the secretary of war, embodied in his to General Dix of 
April 27. 

General Halleck had been chief of staff of the army at Washington, 
in which capacity he must have received my official letter of April 18, 



408 SHERMAN'S IMARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

wherein I wrote clearly that if Johnston's army about Greensboro* were 

" pushed," it would " disperse " — an event I wished to prevent. About 
that time he seems to have been sent from Washington to Richmond to 
command the new miHtary division of the Jam.es, in assuming charge of 
w^hich, on the 22d, he defines the limits of his authority to be the " de- 
partment of Virginia, the army of the Potomac, and such ijart of North 
Carolina as may not be occupied by the command of Major General 
Sherman." (See his General Orders, No. 1.) Four days later, April 
2G, he reports to the secretary that he has ordered Generals Meade, 
Sheridan, and Wright to invade that part of North Carolina which icas 
occupied by my command, and pay *' no regard to any truce or orders 
of" mine. They were ordered to "pnsh forward, regardless of any 
orders save those of Lieutenant General Grant, and cut off Johnston's 
retreat." He knew at the time he penned that despatch and made those 
orders that Johnston was not retreating, but was halted under a forty- 
eight hours' truce with me, and was laboring to surrender his command 
and prevent its dispersion into guerrilla bands, and that I had on the spot 
a magnificent army at my command, amply sufficient for all purposes 
requii-ed by the occasion. 

The plan for cutting off a retreat from the direction of Burkesville 
and Danville is hardly worthy one of his military education and genius. 
When he contemplated an act so questionable as the violation of a 
" truce " made by competent authority within his sphere of command, 
he should have gone himself, and not have sent subordinates, for he 
knew I was bound in honor to defend and maintain my oitm truce and 
pledge of faith, even at the cost of many lives. 

When an officer pledges the faith of his goverment, he is bound to 
defend it; and he is no soldier who would violate it knowingly. 

As to Davis and his stolen treasure, did General Halleck, as chief of 
staff' or commanding officer of the neighboring military division, notify 
me of the facts contained in his despatch to the secretary ? No, he did 
not. If the secretary of war wanted Davis caught, why not order it, 
instead of, by publishing in the newspapers, putting him on his guard 
to hide away and escape ? No orders or instructions to catch Davis or 
his stolen treasm-e ever came to me ; but, on the contrary, I was led to 
believe that the secretary of war rather preferred he should effect an 
escape from the country, if made "unknown" to him. But even on 
this point I enclose a copy of my letter to Admiral Dahlgren, at Charles- 
ton, sent him by a fleet steamer from Wilmington on the 2oth of April, 
two days before the bankers of Pdchmond had imparted to General Hal- 
leck the important secret as to Davis's movement, designed, doubtless, 
to stimulate his troops to march their legs off to catch their treasure for 
their own use. 

I know now that Admiral Dahlgren did receive my letter on the 
26th, and had acted on it before General Halleck had even thought of 
the matter ; but I do not believe a word of the treasure story, — it is 
absurd on its face, — and General Halleck or anybody has my full per- 
mission to chase Jeff Davis and cabinet with their stolen treasure 
through any part of the country occupied by my command. 

The last and most obnoxious feature of General Halleck's despatch is 



APPENDIX. 409 

wherein he goes out of his way,_aiicl advises that my subordinates, 
Generals Thomas, Stoneman, and Wilson, should be instmcted not to 
obey " Sherman's " commands. 

This is too much; and I turn from the subject with feelings too 
strong for words, and merely record my belief that so much mischief 
was never before embraced in so small a space as in the newspaper 
paragraph headed "Sherman's Truce Disregarded," authenticated as 
''official" by Mr. Secretary Stanton, and pubKshed in the Ncav York 
papers of April 28. 

During the night of May 2, at Hilton Head, having concluded my 
business in the department of the south, I began my return to meet 
my troops then marching towards Richmond from Raleigh. On the 
morning of the 3d we ran into Charleston Harbor, where I had the 
pleasure to meet Admiral Dahlgren, who had, in all my previous 
operations from Savannah northward, aided me with a courtesy and 
manliness that commanded my entire respect and deep affection ; 
also General Hatch, who, from our first interview at his Tidlifinney 
camp, had caught the spirit of the move from Pocotaligo northwarcf, 
and had largely contributed to our joint success in taking Charleston 
and the Carolina coast. Any one who is not satisfied with war should 
go and see Charleston, and he will ]n*ay louder and deeper than ever 
that the coimtry may in the long future be spared anv more war. 
Charleston and secession being synonymous terms, the city should be 
left as a sample, so that centuries may pass away before that false 
doctrine is again preached, in our Union. 

We left Charleston on the evening of the 3d of May, and hastened 
with all possible speed back to Morehead city, which we reached at 
night of the 4th. I immediately communicated by telegraph with 
General Sehofield at Raleigh, and learned from him the pleasing fact 
that the lieutenant general commanding the armies of the United 
States had reached the Chesapeake in time to countermand General 
Halleck's orders, and prevent his \-iolating my truce, invading the 
area of my command, and driving Johnston's surrendering army into 
fragments. General Johnston had fulfilled his agreement to the very 
best of his ability ; and the officers charged with issuing the paroles at 
Greensboro' reported about thii'ty thousand (30,000) already made, 
and that the greater part of the North Carolina troops had gone home 
without waiting for their papers, but that all of them would doubtless 
come into some one of the military posts, the commanders of which are 
authorized to grant them. About eight hundred (800) of the rebel 
cavalry had gone south, refusing to abide the terras of the surrender, 
and it was supposed they would make for Mexico. I would sincerely 
advise that they be encouraged to go and stay; they would be a 
nuisance to any civilized government, whether loose or in prison. 

With the exception of some plundering on the part of Lee's and 
Johnston's disbanded men, all else in North Carolina was "quiet." 
When to the number of men surrendered at Greensboro' are added 
those at Tallahassee, Augusta, and Macon, with the scattered squads 
who will come in at other military posts, I have no doubt fifty thousand 
(50,000) armed men will be disarmed and restored to civil pursuits by 
35 



410 Sherman's riarch through the south. 

the capitulation made near Durham's Station, North Carolina, on the 
26th of April, and that, too, without the loss of a single life to us. 

On the 5th of May I received, and here subjoin, a fui'ther despatch 
from General Schofield, which contains inquiries I have been unable to 
satisfy, similar to those made by nearly every officer in my command 
whose duty brings him in contact with citizens. I leave you to do 
what you thinli expedient to provide the military remedy. 

By Telegraph from Raleigh, N". C, May 5, 1865. 
To M^or General "W. T. Sherman, Morehead City. 

"When General Grant was here, as you doubtless recollect, he said 
the lines had been extended to embrace this and^ other states south. 
The order, it seems, has been modified so as to include only Virginia 
and Tennessee. I think it would be an act of wisdom to open this 
state to trade at once. I hope the government will make known its 
policy as the organ of state governments without delay. Affairs must 
necessarily be in a very unsettled state until that is done ; the people 
are now in a mood to accept almost anything which promises a definite 
settlement. 

"What is to be done with the freedmen, is the question of all, and is 
the all-important question. It requires prompt and wise action to 
prevent the negro from becoming a huge elephant on our hands. If I 
am to govern this state, it is important for me to know it at once. If 
another is to be sent here, it cannot be done too soon ; for he will 
probably undo the most that I shall have done. I shall be glad to hear 
from you freely when you have time to write. 

I will send your message to "Wilson at once. 

J. M. ScnoFiELD, Major General. 

I give this despatch entire, to demonstrate how intermingled have 
become civil matters Avith the militaiy, and how almost impossible it 
has become for an officer in authority to act a pure miHtary part. 

There are no longer armed enemies in North Carolina, and a soldier 
can deal with no other sort. The marshals and sheriff's with their 
posses (of which the military may become a part) are the only proper 
officers to deal with civil criminals and marauders. But I will not be 
drawn out in a discussion of this subject, but instance the case to show 
how difficult is the task become to military officers, when men of the 
rank, education, experience, nerve, and good sense of General Schofield 
feel embarrassed by them. 

General Schofield, at Raleigh, has a well-appointed and well-disciplined 
command, is in telegraphic communication with the controlling parts of 
his department, and remote ones in the direction of Georgia, as well as 
with "Washington, and has military possession of all strategic points. 

In lilie manner, General Gillmore is well situated in all respects, 
except as to rapid communication with the seat of the general govern- 
ment. I leave him also with every man he ever asked for, and in fuU 
and quiet possession of every strategic point in his department ; and 
General Wilson has, in the very heart of Georgia, the strongest, best 
appointed, and best equipped cavalry corps that ever fell under my 



APPENDIX. 411 

command; and he has now, by my recent action, opened to him a 
source and route of supply by way of Savannah River that simplifies 
his military problem, so that I think I may with a clear conscience 
leave them and turn my attention once more to my special command — 
the army with which I have been associated through some of the most 
eventful scenes of this or any war. 

I hope and believe none of these commanders will ever have reason 
to reproach me for any "orders" they may have received from me; 
and the president of the United States may be assured that all of them 
are in position, ready and willing to execute to the letter and in spirit 
any orders he may give. I shall henceforth cease to give them any 
orders at all, for the occasion that made them subordinate to me is 
past ; and I shall confine my attention to the army composed of the 
15th and 17th, the 14th and 20th corps, unless the commanding general 
of the armies of the United States orders otherwise. 

At 4 P. M. of May 9 I reached Manchester, on the James River, 
opposite Richmond, and found that all the four corps had arrived from 
Raleigh, and were engaged in replenishing their wagons for the 
resumption of the mai*ch towards Alexandria. 

I have the honor to be youi- obedient servant, 

W. T. Sherman, Major Gener-al Commanding. 

General John A. Ka^vxins, Chief of Staff, Washington, D. C. 

Q. Did you have, near Fortress Monroe, a conference with President 
Lincoln, and if so, about what time ? A. I met General Grant and Mr. 
Lincoln on board a steamboat lying at the wharf at City Point, and 
during the evening of the 27th of March ; I resumed my visit to the 
president on board the same steamer anchored in the stream on the 
following day. General Grant being present on both occasions. 

Q. In those conferences was any arrangement made with you and 
General Grant, or either of you, in regard to the manner of arranging 
business with the Confederacy in regard to the terms of peace ? A. 
Nothing definite ; it was simply a matter of general conversation ; 
nothing specific and definite. 

Q. At what time did you learn that President Lincoln had assented 
to the assembling of the Virginia rebel legislature ? A. I knew of 
it on the 18th of April, I tliink ; but I procured a paper with the spe- 
cific order of General Weitzel, also a copy of the amnesty proclamation 
on the 20th of April. 

Q. You did not know at that time that that an-angement had been 
rescinded by the president? A. No, sir; I did not know that until 
aftei-wards ; the moment I heard of that I notified General Johnston 
of it. 

Q. Then at the time you entered into this arrangement with General 
Johnston, you knew that General Weitzel had approved of the caUing 



412 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

together of the rebel legislature of "Virginia by the assent of the presi- 
dent ? A. I knew of it by some source unofficially ; I succeeded in 
getting a copy of the paper containing General Weitzel's order on the 
20th or 21st of April. 

Q. But at the time of your arrangement you did not know that that 
order had been rescinded ? A. No, sir ; I learned that several days 
afterwards, and at once sent word to General Johnston. 

Q. At the time of your arrangement you also knew of the surrender 
of Lee's army, and the terms of that surrender ? A. I had that officially 
from General Grant ; I got that at Smithfield on the 12th of April. 

Q. I have what purports to be a letter from you to Johnston, which 
seems to imply that you intended to make the arrangement on the terms 
of Lee's surrender. The letter is as follows : — 

Headquarters. Division of the Mississippi, in the Field, ) 

Kaleigh, N. C, April 14, 1865. J 

General J. E. Johnston, Commanding Confederate Army. 

General: I have this moment received your communication of 
this date. I am fully empowered to arrange with you any time for the 
suspension of further hostilities as between the armies commanded by 
myself, and will be willing to confer with you to that end. I will limit 
the advance of my main column to-morrow to Morristown, and the 
cavalry to the University, and I expect you will maintain the present 
position of your forces until each has notice of a failure to agree. 

Thus a basis of action may be had. I undertake to abide by the 
same terms and conditions as were made by Generals Grant and Lee 
at Appomattox Court-house, of the 9th instant, relative to the two 
armies, and, furthermore, to obtain from General Grant an order to 
suspend the movements of any troops from the dh-ection of Virginia. 
General Stoneman is under my command, and my orders will suspend 
any devastation or destruction contemplated by him. I wUl add that 
I really desire to save the people of North Carolina the damage they 
■would sustain by the march of this army through the central or western 
parts of the state. 

I am, with respect, your obedient servant, 

W. T. Sherman, Major General. 

A. Those were the terms as to his own army, but the concessions I 
made him were for the purpose of embracing other armies. 

Q. And the writings you signed were to include other armies ? A. 
The armies of Kirby Smith and Dick Taylor, so that afterwards no man 
within the limits of the southern Confederacy could claim to belong to 
any Confederate army in existence. 

Q. The president addressed a note to General Grant, perhaps not to 
you, to the effect of forbidding officers of the army from entering into 



APPENDIX. 413 

anything but strictly military arrangements, leaving civil matters en- 
tirely to him ? A. I never saw such a note signed by President Lincoln; 
Mr. Stanton made such a note or telegram, and says it was by President 
Lincoln's dictation ; he made it to General Grant, but never to me ; on 
the contrary, while I was in Georgia, Mr. Lincoln telegraphed to me, 
encouraging me to discuss matters with Governor Brown tind Mr. 
Stephens. 

Q. Then you had no notice of that order to General Grant ? A. I 
had no knowledge of it, official or otherwise. 

Q. Li the published report of your agreement there is nothing about 
slavery, I believe ? A. There was nothing said about slavery, because 
it did not fall within the category of military questions, and we could 
not make it so. It was a legal question, which the president had dis- 
posed of, overriding all our actions. We had to treat the slave as 
free, because the president, our commander-in-chief, said he was free. 
For me to have renewed the question when that decision was made, 
w^ould have involved the absurdity of an inferior undertaking to qualify 
the work of his superior. 

Q. That was the reason why it was not mentioned ? A. Yes, sir ; 
subsequently I wrote a note to Johnston, stating that I thought it 
would be well to mention it for political effect when we came to draw 
up the final terms with precision ; that note was written pending the 
time my memorandum was going to Washington, and before an answer 
had been returned. 

Q. At the time you entered into those negotiations, was Johnston in 
a condition to offer any effectual resistance to your army ? A. He could 
not have resisted my army an hour if I could have got hold of him ; but 
he could have escaped from me by breaking up into small parties, or by 
taking the country roads, travelling faster than any army with trains 
could have pursued. 

Q. Then your object in negotiating was to keep his army from scatter- 
ing into guerrilla bands ? A. That was my chief object ; I so officially 
notified the war department. 

Q. And not because there was any doubt about the result of a bat- 
tle ? A. There was no question as to the result of a battle, and I knew 
it ; every soldier knew it ; Johnston said, in the first five minutes of our 
conversation, that any further resistance on his part would be an act of 
folly, and all he wanted was to keep his army from dispersing. 

By Mr. Loan. — Q. In your examination by the chairman you stated 
that you were acting in pursuance of instructions from Mr. Lincoln, 
derived from his letters and telegrams at various times ? A. Yes, sir. 

35* 



414 Sherman's march through the south. 

Q. Have you any of these letters and telegrams which you can fur- 
nish to the committee ? A. I can furnish you a copy of a despatch to 
General Halleck from Atlanta, in which I stated that I had invited 
Governor Brown and Vice President Stephens to meet us, and I can 
give you a copy of Mr. Lincoln's answer, for my despatch was referred 
to him, in which he said he felt much interested in my despatch, and 
encouraged me to allow their visit ; but the letter to which I referred 
specifically was a longer letter, which I wrote to General Halleck from 
my camp on Big Black, Mississippi", at General Halleck's instigation, 
in September, 1863, which was received in Washington, and submitted 
to Mr. Lincoln, who desired to have it published, to wliich I would not 
consent ; in that letter I gave my opinions fiilly and frankly, not only 
upon the military situation, but also the civil policy necessary ; Mr. 
Lincoln expressed himself highly pleased with my views, and desired 
to make them public, but I preferred not to do so. 

Q. And by subsequent acts he induced you to believe he approved 
of these views ? A. I hnoiv he approved of them, and always encour- 
aged me to carry out those views. 

By the Chairman. — Q. The following is a letter published in the 
newspapers, purporting to have been addressed by you to Johnston, 
dated April 21, 1865: — 

Headquarters of the Military Division of the Mississippi, \ 
in the Field, Kaleigh, N. C, April 21, 1865. J 

General J. E. Johnston, Commanding Confederate Army. 

General: I send you a letter for General Wilson, which, if sent 
by telegraph and courier, will check his career. He may mistrust the 
telegraph ; therefore better send the original, for he cannot mistake my 
handwriting, with which he is familiar. He seems to have his blood 
up, and will be hard to hold. If he can buy corn, fodder, and rations 
down about Fort Valley, it will obviate the necessity of his going up to 
Rome or Dalton. 

It is reported to me from Cairo that Mobile is in our possession ; but 
it is not minute or oificial. 

General Baker sent in to me, wanting to surrender his command, on 
the theory that the whole Confederate army was surrendered. I ex- 
plained to him, or his staff officer, the exact truth, and left him to act 
as he thought proper. He seems to have disbanded his men, deposited 
a few arms about twenty miles from here, and himself awaits your ac- 
tion. 1 will not hold him, his men, or arms, subject to any condition 
other than the final one we may agree upon. 

I shall look for Major Hitchcock back from Washington on Wednes- 
day, and shall promptly notify you of the result. By the action of 
General Weitzel in relation to the Virginia legislature, I feel certain we 
will have no trouble on the score of recognizing existing state govern- 



APPENDIX. 415 

ments. It may he the lawyers will want us to define more minutely 
what is meant by the guaranty of rights of persons and property. It 
may be construed into a compact for us to undo the past as to the 
rights of slaves and leases of plantations on the Mississippi of vacant 
and abandoned plantations. I wish you would talk to the best men 
you have on these points, and, if possible, let us, in our final conven- 
tion, make these points so clear as to leave no room for angry contro- 
versy. I believe if the south would simply and publicly declare, what 
we feel, that slavery is dead, that you would inaugurate an era of peace 
and prosperity that would soon efface the ravages of the past four years 
of war. Negroes would remain in the south, and afford you abundance 
of cheap labor, which otherwise will be driven away ; and it will save 
the country the senseless discussions which have kept us all in hot 
water for fifty years. 

Although, strictly, this is no subject for a military convention, yet I 
am honestly convinced that our simple declarations of a result will be 
accepted as good law everywhere. Of course, I have not a single word 
from Washington on this or any other point of our agreement ; but I 
know the efiect of such a step by us will be universally accepted. 
I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

W. T. Sherman, Major General U. S. A. 

Q. This is the letter in which you say that it would be well to declare 
publicly that slavery is dead ? A. Yes, sir, that is the letter. 

Bi/ Mr. Loan. — Q. Will you furnish the committee a copy of the 
letter written by you to Mr. Stanton in January last from Savannah ? 
A. I will do so. 

Mr. Chairman. — And when the manuscript of your testimony is pre- 
pared it will be remitted to you for revision, and you can add to it any 
statement or papers that you may subsequently desure or consider 
necessary. 

I have the above, and now subjoin copies .of letters from my letter- 
book in the order of the bringing in the questions revised by this 

inquiry. 

Headquarters Middle Department of the Mississippi, ) 
in the Field, Raleigh, N. C, April 18, 18G5. J 

Lieutenant General U. S. Grant, or Mjyor General Halleck, Washington, D. C. 
General : I enclose herewith a copy of an agreement made this 
day betAveen General Joseph E. Johnston and myself, which, if ap- 
proved by the president of the United States, wall produce peace from 
the Potomac to the Rio Grande. Mr. Breckinridge was present at the 
conference in the capacity of major general, and satisfied me of the 
ability of General Johnston to carry out to the full extent the terms 
of this agreement ; and if you will get the president to simply indorse 
the copy and commission me to carry out the terms, I will follow them 
to the conclusion. You will observe that it is an absolute submission 
of the enemy to the lawful authorities of the United States, and dis- 



416 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

poses his army absolutely ; and the point to which I attach most impor- 
tance is, that the disposition and dispersement of the armies is done in 
such a manner as to prevent them breaking up into a guerrilla crew. 
On the other hand, we can retain just as much of an army as we please. 
I agree to the mode and manner of the surrender of armies set forth, 
as they give the state the means of suppressing guerrillas, which we 
could not expect to do if we strip them of all armies. 

Both Generals Johnston and Breckinridge admitted that slavery was 
dead, and I could not insist in embracing it in such a paper, because it 
can be made with the states in detail. I know that all the men of sub- 
stance in the south sincerely want peace, and I do not believe they will 
resort to war again during this century. I have no doubt but that they 
will, in the future, be perfectly subordinate to the laws of the United 
States. The moment my action in this matter is approved, I can spare 
five corps, and will ask for, and have, General Scliofield here with the 
10th corps, and go myself, with the 14th, loth, 17th, 20th, and 23d 
corps, via Burkesville and Gordonsville, to Frederick or Hagerstown, 
there to be paid, and mustered out. 

The question of finance is now the chief one, and every soldier and 
officer not needed, to go home at work. I would like to be able to 
begin the march north by May 1. 

I urge on the part of the president speedy action, as it is important 
to get the Confederate armies to their homes, as well as our own. 
I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

W. T. Sherman, Major General Commanding. 



Headquarters Middle Department of the Mississippi, > 
iu the Field, Ealeigh, N. C, April 18, 18G5. | 

General H. W. Halleck, Chief of Staff, Washington, D. C. 

General : I received your despatch describing the man Clark detailed 
to assassinate me. He had better be in a hurry, or he will be too 
late. The news of Mr. Lincoln's death produced a most intense 
eff'ect on our troops. At first I feared it would lead to excesses, but 
now it has softened down, and can easily be quieted. None evince 
more feehng than General Johnston, who admitted that the act was 
calculated to stain his cause with a dark hue, and he contended that 
the loss was most severe to the south, who had begun to realize that 
Mr. Lincoln was the best friend the south had. 

I cannot believe that even Mr. Davis was privy to the diabolical 
plot, but think it the emanation of a lot of young men of the south, who 
are very de\'ils. I want to throw upon the south the care of this class 
of men, who will soon be as obnoxious to their industrious class as 
to us. 

Had I pushed Johnston's army to an extremity, it would have dis- 
persed and done infinite mischief. Johnston informed me that General 
Stoneman had been at SaHsbury, and was now about Statesville. I 
have sent him orders to come to me. 

General Johnston also informed me that General Wilson was at 
Columbus, Georgia, and he wanted me to arrest his progress. I leave 



APPENDIX. 417 

that to you. Indeed, if the president sanctions my a^-eement with 
Johnston, our interest is to cease all destruction. Please give all 
orders necessary according to the views the executive may take, and 
inform him, if possible, not to vary the terms at all, for I have con- 
sidered everything, and believe that the Confederate armies are dis- 
persed. "VVe can adjust all else fairly and well. 
'I am yours, &c., 

AV. T. Sherman^ Major Oeneral Commanding. 

Lest confusion should result to the mind of the committee by the 
latter part of the above letter, I state it was addressed to General 
Halleck as chief of staif, w hen he was in the proper " line of order " 
to the commander-in-chief. The whole case changed when, on the 
26th of April, he became the commander of the separate division of 
the James. 

As stated in my testimony, General Grant reached Raleigh on the 
24th ; and on the 25th, on the supposition that I would start next day 
to chase Johnston's army, I wrote him the following letter, delivered in 
person : — 

Headquarters Department of the Mississippi, in the Field, ) 
Raleigh, N. C, April 25, 1865. \ 

Lieutenant General U. S. Grant, — Present. 

General: I received your letter of April 21, with enclosures, yes- 
terday, and was well pleased that you came along, as you must have 
observed that I held the military control, so as to adapt it to any phase 
the case might assume. 

It is but just that I should record the fact that I made my terms 
with General Johnston under the influence of the liberal terms you 
extended to the army of General Lee, at Appomattox Court-house, on 
the 9th, and the seeming policy of our government as evinced by the 
call of the Virginia legislature and governor back to Richmond under 
your and President Lincoln's very eyes. It now appears this last act 
was done without any consultation with you or any knowledge of Mr. 
Lincoln, but, rather, in opposition to a previous policy well considered. 

I have not the least desire to interfere in the civil policy of our gov- 
ernment, but would shun it as something not to my liking ; but occa- 
sions arise when a prompt seizure of results is forced on military 
commanders not in immediate communication with the proper author- 
ity. It is possible that the terms signed by General Johnston and 
myself Avere not clear enough on the point well understood between us — 
that our negotiations did not apply to any parties outside the officers 
and men of the Confederate armies, which could easily have been 
remedied. 

No surrender of any army not actually at the mercy of the antago- 
nist was ever made without '* terms," and those always define the mili- 
tary status of the surrendered. Thus you stipulated that the officers 
and men of Lee's army should not be molested at their homes so long 



418 Sherman's march through the south. 

as they obeyed the laws at the place of their residence. I do not wish 
to discuss these points involved in our recognition of the state govern- 
ments in actual existence, but will merely state my conclusion, to await 
the solution of the future. 

Such action on one point in no manner recognizes for a moment the 
so-called Confederate government, or makes us liable for its debts or 
acts. The laws and acts done by the several states during the period 
of rebellion are void, because done without the oath prescribed by our 
constitution of the United States, wliich is a condition precedent. We 
have a right to use any sort of machinery to produce military results, 
and it is the commonest thing for military commanders to use the civil 
government in actual existence as a means to an end. I do believe we 
could and can use the present state governments lawfully, constitu- 
tionally, and as the very best possible means to produce the object 
desired, viz., entire and complete submission to the lawful authority of 
the United States. 

As to the punishment of past crimes, that is for the judiciaiy, and 
can in no manner or w^ay be disturbed by our acts ; and, so far as I 
can, I will use my influence that rebels shall suffer all the personal 
punishment provided by law, as also the civil liabilities accruing from 
this past act. 

What we now want is the new form of law, by which common men 
may regain their position of industry, so long disturbed by the war. 

I now apprehend that the rebel army will disperse ; and, instead of 
dealing with six or seven states, we will have to deal with numberless 
bands of desperadoes, headed by such men as Mosby, Forrest, Red 
Jackson, and others who know not and care not for danger and its 
consequences. 

I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

W. T. Sherman, Major General, 

On the same day I wrote and mailed to the secretary of war the 

following : — 

Headquarters Middle Division of the Mississippi, ) 
in the Field, Kaleigh, N. C, April 25, 1865. \ 

Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington. 

Dear Sir : I have b^n furnished a copy of your letter of April 
21, to General Grant, signifying your disapprobation of the terms on 
which General Johnston proposed to disarm and disperse the insurgents 
on condition of amnesty, &c. I admit my folly in embracing in a mil- 
itary convention any civil matter ; but unfortunately, such is the nature 
of our situation that they seem inextricably united ; and I understood 
from you at Savannah that the financial state of the country demanded 
military success, and would warrant a little leaning to policy. 

When I had my conference with General Johnston, I had the public 
example before me of General Grant's terms to Lee's army, and Gen- 
eral Weitzel's invitation to the Virginia legislature to assemble. I 
still believe that the general government of the United States has made 
a mistake ; but that is none of my business. Mine is a different task, 



APPENDIX. 419 

and I had flattered myself that, by four years of patient, and unremit- 
ting, and successful labor, I deserved no reminder such as is contained 
in the last paragraph of your letter to General Grant. 
You may assure the president that I heed his suggestion. 
I am truly, &c., 

W. T. Sherman, Major General Commanding. 

The last sentence refers to the fact that General Grant had been 
sent to Raleigh to direct military movements. That was the first time 
in my life I had ever had a word of reproof from the government of 
the United States, and I was naturally sensitive. But all I said to 
any one was to General Meigs, who came with General Grant : " It 
was not kind on the part of Mr. Secretary Stanton." The fact known 
did not justify my military conduct. The first interview with General 
Johnston followed, and the terms of capitulation were agreed upon 
and signed, and General Grant started for Washington bearing the news. 

When, on the 28th of April, I received in the New York Times the 
most extraordinary budget of Mr. Stanton, which for the first time 
startled me, I wrote to General Grant this letter : — 

Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi,! 

in the Field, April 28, 1865. j" 

Lieutenant General U. S. Grant, General-in-Chief, "Washington, D. C. 

General : Since you left me yesterday, I have seen the New York 
Times of the 24th instant, containing a budget of military news, au- 
thenticated by the signature of the secretary of war, which is grouped 
in such a way as to give very erroneous impressions. It embraces a 
copy of the basis of agreement between myself and General Johnston 
of April 18, with commentaries which it will be time enough to dis- 
cuss two or three years hence, after the government has experimented 
a little more in the machinery by which power reaches the scattered 
people of the vast country known as the south. But, in the mean 
time, I do think that my rank (if not past services) entitled me at least 
to the respect of keeping secret what was known to none but the cab- 
inet until further inquiry comes to be made, instead of giving publicity 
to documents I never saw, and drawing inferences wide of the truth. 

I never saw, or had furnished me, a copy of Mr. Stanton's despatch 
to you of the 3d of March, nor did Mr. Stanton or any human being 
ever convey to me its substance, or anything like it ; but, on the con- 
trary, I had seen General Weitzel in relation to the Virginia legisla- 
ture made in Mr. Lincoln's very person, and had failed to discover any 
other official hints of a plan of reconstruction, or any idea calculated 
to allay the fears of the people of the south after the destruction of 
their armies and civil authorities would leave them without any gov- 
ernment at all. 

We should not drive a people to anarchy, a«d it is simply impossible 
fca: one military power to waste all the masses of this unhappy country. 



420 

I confess I did not want to drive General Johnston's army into the 
hands of armed men going about without purpose, and capable only of 
indefinite mischief. 

But you saw, on your arrival at Raleigh, that I had my armies so dis- 
posed that his escape was only possible in a disorganized shape ; and 
as you did not choose to direct military operations in this quarter, I 
infer that you were satisfied with the military situation. 

At all events, the moment I learned — what was proper enough — 
the disapproval of the president, I wished in such manner to compel 
the surrender of Johnston's whole ai-my on the same terms you had 
prescribed to General Lee's army when you had it surrounded and in 
your absolute power. 

Mr. Stanton, in stating that my order to General Stoneman was 
likely to result in the escape of " Mr. Davis to Mexico or Europe," is 
in deep error. 

General Stoneman was not at Salisbury then, but had gone back to 
Statesville. Davis was supposed to be between us, and Stoneman was 
beyond him. 

By turning towards me, he was approaching Davis ; and had he 
joined me as ordered, I then would have had a mounted force needed 
for that and other purposes. But even now I do not know that Mr. 
Stanton wants Davis caught. And as my official papers, deemed sa- 
cred, are hastily published to the world, it will be imprudent for me to 
state what has been done in this respect. 

As the editor of the Times has (it may be logically and fairly) drawn 
the inference from this singular document that I am insubordinate, I 
can only deny the intention. I have never in my life questioned or 
disobeyed an order, though many and many a time have I risked my 
life, my health, and reputation in obeying orders, or even hints, to ex- 
ecute plans and purposes not to my liking. It is not fan* to withhold 
from me plans and policy (if any there be), and expect me to guess at 
them ; for facts and events appear quite different from different stand- 
points. For four years I have been in camp dealing with soldiers ; 
and I can assure you that the conclusion at which the cabinet arrived 
with such singular unanimity differs from mine. I conferred freely 
with the best officers in this army as to the points involved in this 
controversy ; and, strange to say, they were singularly unanimous in 
the other conclusion ; and they will learn with pain and sorrow that I 
am deemed insubordinate, and wanting in common sense ; that I, who 
have labored day and night, winter and summer, for four years, and 
have brought an army of seventy thousand men in magnificent con- 
dition across a country deemed impassable, and placed it just where it 
was wanted almost on the day appointed, have brought discredit on 
the government. 

I do not wish to boast of this ; but I do say that it entitled me to the 
courtesy of being consulted before publishing to the world a proposi- 
tion rightfully submitted to higher authority for adjudication, and then 
accompanied by statements which invited the press to be let loose on me. 

It is true that non-combatants — men who sleep in comfort and 
security while we watch on the distant lines — are better able to judge 



APPENDIX. 421 

than we poor soldiers, -who rarely see a newspaper, hardly can hear 
from our families, or stop long enough to get our pay. I envy not the 
task of reconstruction, and am delighted that the secretary has re- 
lieved me of it. 

As you did not undertake to assume the management of the affairs 
of this army, I infer that on personal inspection your mind arrived at 
a different conclusion from that of Mr. Secretary Stanton. I will 
therefore go on and execute your orders to the conclusion, and when 
done will, with intense satisfaction, leave to the civil authorities the 
execution of the task of which they seem to me so jealous ; but as an 
honest man and soldier, I invite them to follow my path ; for they 
may see some things and hear some things that may disturb their phi- 
losophy. 

With sincere respect, 

W. T. Sherman, Major General Commanding. 

P. S. As Mr. Stanton's singular paper has been published, I de- 
mand that this also be made public ; though I am in no manner 
responsible to the press, but to the law and my proper superiors. 

W. T. Sherman, Major General Commanding. 

Since my arrival at Washington I have learned from General Grant 
that this letter was received, but he preferred to withhold it until my 
arrival, as he knew I was making towards Washington with my army. 
Upon my arrival I did not insist on its publication till it was drawTi out 
by this inquuy. I also append here the copy of a letter from Colonel 
T. S. Bowers, A. A. G., asking me to modify my report as to the point 
of violating my truce, with my answer. 

Headquarters Armies of the United States, ) 
Washington, May 25, 1865. S 

Major General TV. T. Sherman, Commanding Middle Division of the Mississippi. 

General Grant directed me to call your attention to the part of your 
report in which the necessity of maintaining your truce at the expense 
of many lives is spoken of. The general thinks that in making a 
truce the commander of an army can control only his own army, and 
that the hostile general must make his own arrangements with other 
armies acting against him. 

While independent generals, acting against a common foe, would 
naturally act in concert, the general claims that each must be the judge 
of his own duty, and responsible for its execution. 

If you should wish, the report will be returned for any change you 
deem best. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

T. S. Bowers, Assistant Adjutant General. 

3G 



422 sheeman's march through the south. 

• Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi, ) 

Washington, D. C, May 2G, 18G5. \ 

Colonel T. S. BO"VVERS, Assistant Adjutant General, Washington, D. C. 

Colonel : I had the honor to receive your letter of May 25 last 
evening, and I hasten to answer. I wish to precede it by renewing 
the assurance of my entire confidence and respect "for the president 
and Lieutenant General Grant, and that in all matters I will be most 
willing to shape my official and private conduct to suit their wishes. 
The past is beyond my control, and the matters embraced in the 
official report to which you refer are finished. It is but just the rea- 
sons that actuated me, right cr wrong, should stand on record ; but in 
all future cases, should any arise, I will respect the decisions of General 
Grant, though I think them wrong. 

Suppose a guard has prisoners in charge, and officers of another 
command should aim to rescue or kill them ; is it not clear the guard 
must defend the prisoners as a safeguard ? So jealous is the military 
law to protect and maintain good faith when pledged, that the law 
adjudges death, and no alternative punishment, to one who violates a 
safeguard in foreign ports. (See Articles of War, No. 55.) For mur- 
der, arson, treason, and the highest military crimes, the punishment 
prescribed by law is death or some minor punishment ; but for the 
violation of a " safeguard," death, and death alone, is the prescribed 
penalty. I instance this to illustrate how, in military stipulations to 
an enemy, our government commands and enforces " good faith." In 
discussing this matter I would like to refer to many writers on military 
law, but am willing to take Halleck as the text. (See his chapter, No. 
xxvii.) 

In the very first article he states that good faith should always be 
observed between enemies in war, because, when our faith has been 
pledged to him, so far as the promise extends, he ceases to be an ene- 
my. He then defines the meaning of compacts and conventions, and 
says they are made sometimes for a general or a partial suspension of 
hostilities, for the " surrender of an army," &c. They may be specialy 
limited to particular places or to particular forces, but, of course, can 
only bind the armies subject to the general who makes the truce, and 
co-extensive only with the extent of his command. This is all I ever 
claimed, and it clearly covers the whole case : all of North Carolina 
was in my immediate command, with General Schofield, its department 
commander, and his army present with me. I never asked the truce 
to have efiect beyond my own territorial command. General Halleck 
himself, in his Order No. 1, defines his own limits clearly enough, viz., 
" Such part of North Carolina as was not occupied by the command 
of Major General Sherman." He could not pursue and cut off" John- 
ston's retreat towards Salisbury and Charlotte without invading my 
command ; and so patent was his purpose to defy and violate my truce, 
that Mr. Stanton's publication of the fact, not even yet recalled, mod- 
ified, or explained, was headed " Sherman's Truce Disregarded;" and 
the whole world drew but one inference, — it admits of no other. I 
never claimed that that truce bound Generals Halleck or Canby within 
the sphere of their respective commands, as defined by themselves. 



APPENDIX. 423 

It was a partial truce of very short duration, clearly ^vithin my limits 
and right, justified by events, and, as in the case of prisoners in my 
custody, or the violation of a safeguard given by me in my own terri- 
torial limits, I am bound to maintain good faith. I prefer not to 
change ray report, but again repeat that in all future cases I am wilhng 
to be governed by the interpretation of General Grant, although I 
again invite his attention to the Hmits of my command, and those of 
General Halleck at the time, and the pointed phraseology of General 
Halleck's despatch to Mr. Stanton, wherein he reports that he had 
ordered his generals to pay no heed to my orders within the clearly 
defined area of my command. 
I am yours, 

W. T. Sherman, Major General U. S. A. Commanding, 

I now add the two letters written to Mr. Stanton at Savannah, and 
the despatch from Atlanta mentioned in the body of my testimony, 
with Mr. Lincoln's answer : — 

Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi, ) 
in the Field, Savannah, January 2, 1865. \ 

Hon. Edwin M. Staxton, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 

Sir: I have just received from Lieutenant General Grant a copy of 
that part of your telegram to him of 26th December, relating to cot- 
ton, a copy of which has been immediately furnished to General Eaton, 
my chief quartermaster, who will be strictly governed by it. 

I had already been approached by all the consuls and half the people 
of Savannah on this cotton question, and my invariable answer has 
been, that all the cotton in Savannah was prize of war, and belonged to 
the United States, and nobody should recover a bale of it with my 
consent ; and that as cotton had been one of the chief causes of this 
war, it should help pay its expenses ; that all cotton became tainted 
with treason from the hour the first act of hostility was committed 
against the United States, some time in December, 1860, and that no 
bill of sale subsequent to that date could convey title. 

My orders were, that an ofiicer of the quartermaster's department 
U. S. A. might furnish the holder, agent, or attorney a mere certificate 
of the fact of seizure, with description of the bales, marks, &c., the 
cotton then to be turned over to the agent of the treasury department, 
to be shipped to New York for sale ; but since the receipt of your 
despatch 1 have ordered General Eaton to make the shipment himself 
to the quartermaster at New York, where you can dispose of it at 
pleasure. I do not think the treasury department ought to bother 
itself with the prizes or captures of war. 

Mr. Barclay, former consul at New York, — representing Mr. Mol- 
yneux, former consul, but absent since a long time, — called on me in 
person with reference to cotton claims by English subjects. He seemed 
amazed when I told him I should pay no respect to consular certifi- 
cates, and that in no event would I treat an English subject with more 
favor than one of our own deluded citizens ; and that, for my part, I 



424 Sherman's march through the south. 

was unwilling to fight for cotton for the benefit of Englishmen openly 
engaged'in smuggling arms and munitions of Avar to kill us; that, on 
the contrary, it would afi"ord me great satisfaction to conduct my army 
to Nassau, and wipe out that nest of pirates. I explained to him, 
however, that I was not a diplomatic agent of the general government 
of the United States, but that my opinion, so frankly expressed, was 
that of a soldier, which it would be well for him to heed. It 
appeared, also, that he owned a plantation on the line of investment 
of Savannah, which of course is destroyed, and for which he expected 
me to give him some certificate entitling him to indemnification, which 
I declined emphatically. 

I have adopted, in Savannah, rules concerning property, severe, but 
just, founded upon the laws of nations and the practice of civilized 
governments, and am clearly of opinion that we should claim all the 
belligerent rights over conquered countries, that the people may realize 
the truth that war is no child's play. 

I embrace in this a copy of a letter dated December 31, 1864, in 
answer to one from Solomon Cohen, a rich lawyer, to General Blair, 
his personal friend, as follows : — 

" Major General F. P. Blair, Commanding 17th Army Corps. 

" General : Your note, enclosing Mr. Cohen's of this date, I re- 
ceived, and I answer frankly through you his inquiries. 

" 1st. No one can practise law as an attorney in the United States 
without acknowledging the supremacy of our government. If I am 
not in error, an attorney is as much an officer of the court as the clerk, 
and it would be a novel thing in a government to have a court to ad- 
minister law that denied the supremacy of the government itself. 

" 2d. No one will be allowed the privileges of a merchant — or, rath- 
er, to trade is a privilege which no one should seek of the government 
— without in like manner acknowledging its supremacy. 

" 3d. If Mr. Cohen remains in Savarmah as a denizen, his property, 
real and personal, will not be disturbed, unless its temporary use be 
necessary for the military authorities of the city. The title to property 
will not be disturbed in any event, until adjudicated by the courts of 
the United States. 

" 4th. If Mr. Cohen leaves Savannah under ray Special Order, No. 
143, it is a public acknowledgment that he * adheres to the enemies 
of the United States,' and all his property becomes forfeited to the 
United States. But, as a matter of favor, he will be allowed to carry 
with him clothing and furniture for the use of himself, family, and 
servants, and will be transported within the enemy's lines, but not by 
way of Port Royal. 

" These rules will apply to all parties, and from them no exception 
will be made. 

" I have the honor to be, general, your obedient servant, 

" W. T. Sherman, Major Omeral" 

This letter was in answer to specific inquiries. It is clear and spe- 



APPENDIX. 425 

cific, and covers all the points ; and should I leave before my orders 
are executed, I will endeavor to impress upon my successor, General 
Foster, their wisdom and propriety. 

I hope the course I have taken in these matters will meet your ap- 
probation, and that the president will not refund to parties claiming 
cotton or other property without the strongest evidence of loyalty and 
friendship on the part of the claimant, or unless some other positive 
end is to be gained. 

I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

W. T. Sherman, Major General Commanding. 

Headquarters of the Military Division of the Mississippi, \ 
in the Field, Savannah, January 19, 18(55. \ 

Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. 

Sir : "When you left Savannah, a few days ago, you forgot the map 
which General Geary had prepared for you, showing the route by 
wliich his division entered the city of Savannah, being the first troops 
to occupy that city. I now sencl it to you. I avail myself of the op- 
portunity also to enclose you copies of all my official orders touching 
trade and intercourse with the people of Georgia, as well as for the 
establishment of the negro settlements. Delegations of the people of 
Georgia continue to come, and I am satisfied that a Httle judicious 
handling, and by a little respect being paid to their prejudices, we can 
create a schism in Jeff" Davis's dominions. All that I have conversed 
with realize the truth that slavery, as an institution, is defunct ; and 
the only questions that remain are, what disposition shall be made of 
the negroes themselves. I confess myself unable to offer a complete 
solution of these questions, and prefer to leave it to the slower opera- 
tions of time. We have given the initiative, and can afford to wait 
the working of the experiment. 

As to trade matters, I also think it is to our interest to keep the 
people somewhat dependent on the articles of commerce to which they 
have been hitherto accustomed. General Grover is now here, and 
will, I think, be able to manage this matter judiciously, and may grad- 
ually relax, and invite cotton to come in in large quantities. 

But at first we should manifest no undue anxiety on that score, for 
the rebels would at once make use of it as a power against us. "VVe 
should assume a tone of perfect contempt for cotton and eveiything 
else in comparison with the great object of the war — the restoration 
of the Union, with all its rights and power. If the rebels burn cotton 
as a war measure, they simply play into our hands, by taking away the 
only product of value they now have to exchange in foreign ports for 
war ships and munitions. By such a course, also, they alienate the 
feelings of the large class of small farmers that look to their little 
parcels of cotton to ^exchange for food and clothing for their families. 
I hope the government will not manifest too much anxiety to obtain 
cotton in large quantities, and, especially, that the president will not 
indorse the contracts for the purchase of large quantities of cotton. 
Several contracts, involving from six to ten thousand bales, indorsed 
36* 



426 Sherman's march through the south. 

by Mr. Lincoln, have been shown me, but were not in such a form as 
to amount to an order for me to facilitate their execution. 

As to the treasury trade agents, and agents to take charge of con- 
fiscated and abandoned property, whose salaries depend on their fees, 
I can only say that, as a general rule, they are mischievous and dis- 
turbing elements to a military government, and it is almost impossible 
for us to study the law and regulations so as to understand fully their 
powers and duties. I rather think the quartermaster's department 
of the army could better fulfil all their duties, and accomplish all that 
is aimed at by the law. Yet, on this subject, I will leave Generals 
Foster and Grover to do the best they can. 

I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, 

W. T. Sherman, Major General Commanding. 

Headquarters of the Middle Division of the Mississippi, ) 
in the Field, Atlanta, Georgia, September 15, 1864. \ 

Major General Halleck, Washington, D. C. 

My report is done, and will be forwarded as soon as I get a few 
more of the subordinate reports. I am awaiting a courier from Gen- 
eral Grant. All well, and troops in fine, healthy camps, and supplies 
coming forward finely. Governor Brown has disbanded his militia to 
gather the corn and sorghum of the state. I have reason to believe 
that he and Stephens want to visit me, and I have sent them a hearty 
invitation. I will exchange two thousand prisoners with Hood, but 
no raore. 

W. T. Sherman, Major General Commanding, 

Washington, D. C, September 17, 1864— 10 A. M. 

Major General Sherman : I feel great interest in the subjects of 
your despatch mentioning corn and sorghum, and contemplated a visit 
to you. 

A. Lincoln, President United States. 

I have not possession here of all my official records, most of which 
are out west ; and I have selected the above from my more recent 
letter-books, and offer them to show how prompt and full have been 
my official reports, and how unnecessary was all the clamor made 
touching my action and opinions at the time the basis of agreement 
of April 18 was submitted to the president. 

All of which is most respectfully submitted. 

W. T. Sherman, Major General United States Army. 



APPENDIX. 427 



SPEECH OF GENERAL SHERMAN AT ST. LOUIS. 

I feel to-night more than usually honored, for I am in the presence 
of many with whom I have been associated in years gone by in busi- 
ness, and in the social ciscle, and in public aflairs. To receive the 
warm commendations I have just heard from the gentleman preceding 
me affords me the greatest pleasure ; and I would I were as gifted as 
my friend who has just taken his seat, so that I might interest you. 
I would travel all over the world to find topics to suit the occasion. 
Gladly would I talk of Greece and Rome (but I fear they are gone by) ; 
or, better still, point to the history of our own great country, that is 
teeming with recollections — recollections that to me are doubly, trebly 
dear, from associations ; to the history of the Spaniard on the lone 
river; or, still more, to old Colonel Bonneville, who Is yet living 
among you, and whom I saw yesterday. But the world sweeps on, 
and I will not pause. And I see, by the paper before me, that you 
bring me before you as an actor in the scenes just passed, and classify 
me as one of those men who have simply wafted our country past a 
dangerous abyss, and placed it on a firm ground, where it may sally 
forth again on a new career of prosperity and glory. (Cheers.) I ad- 
mit that the four past years seem even to me a dream now ; I can 
hardly realize the part I have taken, although step by step rises up 
when my memory retraces them ; but yet it seems as a dream that 
men reared under our laws — men who were enjoying the prosperity 
which they themselves admitted never was surpassed — should rise up 
in rebellion against the land and government of Washington. It 
seems to me an impossibility ; yet it was a possibility ; but it is now 
past, thank God. (Cheers.) We have a right, as citizens and histo- 
rians, to cast our eyes and memory back, and see if, in the past events, 
we can learn lessons — lessons of wisdom — that will make us better 
men, better citizens, and better patriots in the future ; and if I can 
trace anything in the past, calculated to effect this object, I will account 
myself repaid. Here, in St. Louis, probably, began the great centre 
movement which terminated the war ; a battle-field such as never be- 
fore was seen, extending from ocean to ocean almost with the right 
wing and the left wing ; and from the centre here, I remember one 
evening, up in the old Planters' House, sitting with General Halleck 
and General CuUum, and we were talking about this, that, and the 



428 SHERMAN'S MARCH THROUGH THE SOUTH. 

other. , A map was on the table, and I "was explaining the position of 
the troops of the enemy in Kentucky when I came to this state. 
General Halleck knew well the position here, and I remember well the 
question he asked me — the question of the school teacher to his child 
— " Sherman, here is the line ; how will you break that line ? " 
" Physically, by a perpendicular force." " Where is the perpendicu- 
lar ? " " The line of the Tennessee River." General Halleck is the 
author of that first beginning, and I give him credit for it with pleas- 
ure. (Cheers.) Laying down his pencil upon the map, he said, 
" There is the line, and we must take it." 

The capture of the fort on the Tennessee River by the troops led 
by Grant followed. (Cheers.) These were the grand strategic features 
of that first movement, and it succeeded perfectly. General Halleck's 
plan went farther — not to stop at his first line, which ran tlirough 
Columbus, Bowling Green, crossing the river at Henry and Donelson, 
but to push on to the second line, which ran through Memphis and 
Charleston ; but troubles intervened at Nashville, and delays followed ; 
opposition to the last movement Avas made, and I myself was brought 
an actor on the scene. I remember our ascent on the Tennessee River. 
I have seen to-night captains of steamboats who first went with us 
there. Storms came, and we did not reach the point we desired. At 
that time. General C. F. Smith was in command. He was a man in- 
deed. All the old officers remember him as a gallant and elegant offi- 
cer ; and had he lived, probably some of us younger fellows would not 
have attained our present positions. But that is now past. We fol- 
lowed line — the second line — and then came the landing of forces at 
Pittsburg Landing. Whether it was a mistake in landing them on the 
west instead of the east bank, it is not necessary now to discuss. I 
think it was not a mistake. There was gathered the first great army 
of the west ; commencing with only twelve thousand, then twenty, 
then thirty thousand ; and we had about thirty-eight thousand in that 
battle ; and all I claim for that is, that it was a contest for manhood ; 
there was no strategy. Grant was there, and others of us, all young 
at that time, and unknown men ; but our enemy was old ; and Sidney 
Johnson, whom all the officers remembered as a power among the old 
officers, high above Grant, myself, or an j body else, led the enemy on 
that battle-field, and I almost wonder how we conquered. But, as I 
remarked, it was a contest for manhood — man to man, soldier to sol- 
dier. We fought, and we held our ground ; and therefore accounted 
ourselves victorious. (Cheers.) 

From that time forward we had with us the prestige. That battle 



APPENDIX. 429 

was worth milKons and millions to us by reason of the fact of the 
courage displayed by the brave soldiers on that occasion. And from 
that time to this I never heard of the first want of courage on the part 
of our northern soldiers. (Cheers.) It then became a game of grand 
war. Armies were accounted equal, and skill and generalship came 
into play. We gained thereby the movement on Corinth which Hal- 
leck designed here. There his command ceased, and a new shuffle of 
the cards of war was made. Halleck went to the east and Grant to 
the west ; but summer overtook us with heat, and we could not march. 
Northern Mississippi was dry as ashes. It was impossible for men to 
live and march from stream to stream ; and to follow the roads that lie 
between these, men would have perished with thirst, been overcome 
by heat. Therefore we delayed until fall ; and late that fall I met 
Grantj by appointment, at Columbus ; and there again we went over 
the map, and the next thing Avas to break the line on the Tallahatchie. 

Many of you here remember that movement. You citizens do not 
understand it at all, for I have never yet seen a newspaper account of 
it that approximates to the truth. (Laughter.) PembertOn com- 
manded the army of the Confederacy in our front. We had superior 
numbers. Our men were scattered, and we first concentrated on the 
Tallahatchie, below Holly Springs. Grant moved direct on Pember- 
ton, while I moved from Memphis, and struck directly into Grenada ; 
and the first thing that Pemberton knew, the depot of his supplies was 
almost in the grasp of a small cavalry force ; and he fell into confusion, 
and gave us the Tallahatchie without a battle. 

But with some people an object gained without a battle is nothing. 
But war means success by any and every means ; it is not fighting 
alone. Bulls do that, and bears, and all beasts ; but men attain ob- 
jects by intellect, and the introduction of physical power, moved upon 
salient points. And so we gained the Tallahatchie, and although 
hardly a gun was fired, yet we gained a battle equal in its results to 
any other battle on earth. (Cheers.) It gave us uninterrupted pos- 
session of Northern Mississippi, and undisputed possession of the 
resources of that country ; and that country has been in our possession 
ever since, in a military sense. Then came the great campaign of your 
river, upon which you and I and all of us were more deeply interested 
than in any other that can ever be developed by any war on this con- 
tinent. 

The possession of the Mississippi River is the possession of Ameri- 
ca (cheers) ; and I say that, had the southern Confederacy (call it by 
what name you may) — had that power represented by the southern 



430 Sherman's march through the south. 

Confedepcy held with a grip sufficiently strong the lower part of the 
Mississippi River, we would have been a subjugated people, and they 
would have dictated to us if we had given up the possession of the 
Lower Mississippi. It was vital to us, and we fought for it and won 
it. We determined to have it ; but we could not go down with our 
frail boats past the batteries of Vicksburg. It was a physical impos- 
sibility. Therefore, what was to be done ? After the Tallahatchie line 
was carried, Vicksburg was the next point. I went with a small and 
hastily collected force, and repeatedly endeavored to make a lodg- 
ment on the bluff between Vicksburg and Haines's Bluff, while General 
Grant moved with his main army so as to place himself on the high 
plateau behind Vicksburg ; but " man proposes and God disposes," 
and we failed on that occasion. I then gathered my hastily collected 
force, and went down farther ; and then, for the first time, I took Gen- 
eral Blair and his brigade under my command. 

On the very day I had agreed to be there I was there, and we swung 
our flanks around, and the present governor of Missouri fell a prisoner 
to the enemy on that day. We failed. I waited anxiously for a cooper- 
ating force inland and below us, but they did not come ; and after I 
had made the assault, I learned that the depot at Holly Spring!? had 
been broken up, and that General Grant had sent me word not to at- 
tempt it. But it was too late. Nevertheless, although we were unable 
to carry it at first, there were other things to be done. The war cov- 
ered such a vast area, there was plenty to do. I thought of that affair 
at Arkansas Post, although others claim it, and they may have it if 
they want it. We cleaned them out there, and General Grant then 
brought his whole army to Vicksburg ; and you in St. Louis remember 
well that long winter, how we were on the levee, with the water rising 
and drowning us like muskrats ; how we were seeking channels through 
Deer Creek and Yazoo Pass, and how we finally cut a canal across the 
Peninsula in front of Vicksburg. 

But all that time the true movement was the original movement, 
and everything not approximating to it came nearer the truth. But 
we could not make a retrograde movement. Why ? Because your 
people of the north were too noisy. We could not take any step 
backwards, and for that reason we were forced to run the batteries at 
Vicksburg, and make a lodgment on the ridges on some of the bluffs 
below Vicksburg. It is said I protested against it. It is folly. I 
never protested in my life — never. (Laughter.) On the contrary, 
General Grant rested on me probably more responsibility even than 
any other commander under him ; for he wrote to me, " I want you to 



APPENDIX. 431 

move upon Haines's Bluff, to enable me to pass the next fort below — 
Grand Gulf. I hate to ask you, because the fervor of the north will 
accuse you of being rebellious again." (Laughter.) I love Grant for 
his kindness. I did make the feint on Haines's Bluff, and by that 
means Grant ran the blockade easily to Grand Gulf, and made a lodg- 
ment down there, and got his army up on the high plateau in the rear 
of Vicksburg, while you people here were beguiled into the belief that 
Sherman was again repulsed. But we did not repose confidence in 
everybody. Then followed the movement on Jackson, and the 4th of 
July placed us in possession of that great stronghold, Vicksburg ; and 
then, as Mr. Lincoln said, " the Mississippi went unvexed to the sea." 
From that day to this, this war has been virtually and properly set- 
tled. It was a certainty then. They would have said, " We give up ; " 
but Davis would not ratify it, and he had them under good discipline, 
and therefore it was necessary to fight again. Then came the affair of 
Chickamauga. The army of the Mississippi lying along its banks were 
called into a new field of action, and so one morning early I got orders 
to go to Chattanooga. I did not know where it was, hardly. (Laugh- 
ter.) I did not know the road to go there. But I found it, and got 
there in time (laughter and cheers) ; and although my men were 
shoeless, and the cold and bitter frosts of winter were upon us, yet I 
must still go to Knoxville, thirteen miles farther, to relieve Burnside, 
That march we made. (A voice — And you got there in time.) Then 
winter forced us to lie quiet. During that winter I took a little exer- 
cise down the river ; but that is of no account. 



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